Mail and Mici-obvs. 99 



The admiration and gratitude of the world are due these 

 modest, indefatigable pioneers in medicine. As soon as some 

 new truth was ascertained it was published without material 

 gain. Thus ideas were exchanged and great progress was 

 made. Contrast this spirit with the modern commercial 

 patents now granted for any and all insignificant devices. 



As soon as Klebs and Loeffler learned of this idea of toxins 

 from Von Behring and Kitasato, their perplexities were ended, 

 for they could find the diphtheria bacilli in the throats of the 

 \ ictims, but never in the blood. 



Von Behring and Kitasato, acting upon Pasteur's inspira- 

 tion and suggestion, developed immunity for tetanus. This 

 was accomplished in a manner much similar to that utilized by 

 Pasteur — first attenuation of the poisonous toxiln followed 

 by repeated, increasing injections of the toxin into the 

 blood. After this has been accomplished in the case of one 

 animal it can successfully withstand a dose of toxin that is 

 sufficient to kill a thousand like animals which have not been 

 immunized. Later, it was learned that the blood of the im- 

 munized animals would, when injected into normal animals, 

 cause immunity. Here, then, we have the discovery of an- 

 other great principle of modern medicine, and that is, in the 

 case of tetanus, that the blood or serum of an animal which 

 has been immunized by repeated, increasing injections of toxin, 

 will cause another animal to become immune when this sensi- 

 tized serum is injected into it. This serum is known as anti- 

 toxin. 



After this great discovery had been magnanimously heralded 

 to the world, we find that the next great triumphal advance 

 came from across the Rhine. Roux and Yersen, in Pasteur's 

 laboratories, began their monumental labors in the study of 

 diphtheria. With the idea of antitoxin contributed by Von 

 Behring and Kitasato, they set out to ascertain if diphtheria 

 would react in a like manner. It was found that such was the 

 rase. However, twelve long years of labor passed before the 

 most suitable animal was found in which to develop the anti- 

 toxin. Ultimately the horse proved to be that animal, and now 

 thousands of horses are used for this purpose. The process of 

 making the antitoxin in brief is as follows : The diphtheria 

 bacilli in countless billions are grown in a bouillon. When suf- 

 ficient toxin has developed they are destroyed by heat. The 



