'•'M' 



PREFACE 



Although there has been a general awareness for many 

 years that the inadvertent occurrence of fever following 

 the parenteral administration of fluids is related to some 

 product of microbial metabolism^ it is only within the past 

 several decades that studies have led to the isolation from 

 microbial sources of pyrogenic materials of a polysaccharide 

 nature possessing remarkable physiologic activity. It is 

 now appreciated that the vague phenomena, which formerly 

 were called "non-specific, foreign protein reactions," have 

 a common etiology. Trace contamination of a protein is 

 usually sufficient to result in the formation of enough of 

 the pyrogenic polysaccharide complex to impart the observed 

 type of activity. As a consequence it is likely that protein 

 is not the primary causative agent. 



The recent availability of pyrogenic polysaccharides has 

 stimulated basic science investigations, leading to the rea- 

 lization that these extremely active substances are capable 

 of eliciting a miscellany of complex physiological changes, 

 even in sub-febrile doses, which appear to be of therapeutic 

 Importance, 



This annotated bibliography was compiled to provide a 

 selected list of references, particularly relating to 

 pyrogenic polysaccharides of bacterial origin, to acquaint 

 the worker in this field with the published investigations 

 and to aid in orienting and focusing current researches. 

 Out of necessity, the bibliography also includes many perti- 

 nent references on vaccines. It must be emphasized, however, 

 that a very significant number of references relating to 

 non-specific, foreign protein therapy have been deliberately 

 omitted because of the conviction that it is practically 

 impossible to duplicate many of such materials; hence such 

 information is not of practical significance. Some refer- 

 ences in this latter category have been included in selected 

 instances where deemed desirable. 



