HISTORICAL SKETCH 



The widespread occurrence of terminal infections was 

 strikingly expressed by Osier when he wrote that, 'Persons 

 rarely die of the diseases with which they suffer." (2) 

 However, the nature of the rupture in the defensive mechanism 

 of the individual which permits the rapid invasion of the body 

 before death by even the feebly aggressive bacteria, has never 

 been satisfactorily explained. Flexner (3) undertook a study 

 of this condition as early as 1896. He, however, limited his 

 investigations to an examination of the hvimoral defense with- 

 out any attempt at ascertaining whether cellular modifications 

 might not be a contributing cause in terminal infections. He 

 thought that he discovered, at least in a few cases, a slight 

 decrease in the bactericidal actions of human serum against 

 staphylococci » The correctness of these findings, however, was 

 soon placed in doubt by V/right, (4) who together with 'Windsor 

 demonstrated in 1902 that hanan blood exhibits an almost total 

 absence of any bactericidal influence against staphylococci. 



Bordet C5) was one of the first to suggest that the 

 phagocytic activity of the body might be a relatively stable 

 function and not easily influenced by conditions which pro- 

 foundly effect other vital activities. He demonstrated that 

 deep chloroform anesthesia which "completely deadens" (8) the 

 central nervous system has no disturbing influence upon phago- 

 cytosis. This investogator also observed that diptheria 



' (2) 



