AN EXPERIlffiNTAL STUDY OF PliAGOCYTOSIS 



IN RELATION TO TEF1!INAL 



INFECTIONS 



INTRODUCTION 



The circumstances which originally suggested this in- 

 vestigation were the instances of energetic phagocytosis fre- 

 quently observed at autopsy. The surprising number of bacteria 

 occasionally found within the leucocytes in individuals dying 

 of fatal infection or intoxication suggests the possibility 

 that the diminution of phagocytic activity sometimes associated 

 with destructive infections may not be as nearly universal as 

 is cominonly supposed. It farther seems probable that in mori- 

 bund animals, "in which the resistance fails" (1), the phago- 

 cytic defense may remain unimpaired, and, occasionally at least, 

 function at a level considerably above the normal. These 

 observations also indicate that terminal infections can not be 

 accounted for by assuming a collapse or a decrease in the ac- 

 tivity of the phagocytic functions of the animal. 



Fig. 1 illustrates the extent of phagocytosis which may 

 occur in animals dying of fatal infections. 



