IOO THE TOXINS OF THE HIGHER PLANTS AND ANIMALS 



In the same manner Calmette immunized horses and obtained highly 

 antitoxic sera. He tested the strength of these sera, as follows: 



1. Upon Rabbits. Each animal received an injection of 2 c.cm. of the serum into 

 the vein of one ear, and after two hours i mg. of toxin into the vein of the other ear. A 

 control animal was similarly treated with toxin only. The latter animal died in a half 

 hour, while the former remained alive. 



2. Upon While Mice,. Diminishing amounts of serum were mixed in test tubes, 

 with o.oooi gm. of toxin (in i per cent, solution) and the mixtures injected into the mice. 

 The amount of serum which should completely neutralize the toxin must not be 

 more than 0.03 c.cm. 



According to Calmette one can judge the efficiency of an immune 

 serum by its antihemolytic power, inasmuch as the hemotoxic and 

 neurotoxic actions run parallel. This is denied by Noguchi. 



The scorpion and bee poisons display properties similar to those of the 

 cobra poison. They also combine with lecithin to produce hemolysis. 



Thus far, it has been shown that the lipoids, especially lecithin are 

 actively associated in the hemolysis of erythrocytes; whether the toxin 

 combines with the lipoids and forms a toxolipoid (toxolecithid) which is 

 hemotoxic, or whether as v. Dungern believes, the hemolytic action is due 

 to the fatty acid derived from the lecithin by the ferment action of sub- 

 stances contained in the poison, has not been definitely proven. 



Quite recently it has been thought that pernicious anemia and parox- 

 ysmal hemoglobinuria are closely associated with such toxolipoids. 



Tallquist obtained from a Bothriocephalus latus, a hemotoxic 



Pernicious poison of a lipoid nature which experimentally produced a 



Anemia, blood picture characteristic of pernicious anemia. But it 



would be incorrect to associate all forms of pernicious anemia 



with tape- worm poison; more probable is it that hemo toxins are formed 



within the organism itself. 



In paroxysmal hemoglobinuria a hemotoxin of very peculiar 

 Paroxysmal properties is found circulating in the blood. 

 Hemoglo- It can be demonstrated as follows. 



binuria. x> Ehrlich's Method. One of the patient's fingers is tightened 

 by means of a small tourniquet and kept immersed in ice-cold 

 water for half an hour. Some blood is then collected into a capillary pipette, 

 from the finger thus tied, and as a control, blood from a finger of the other 

 hand is drawn off. This is allowed to clot and then centrif ugalized. The 

 results are that the serum from the finger held in the ice water is tinged red 

 from dissolved hemoglobin while the control serum is normally pale. 



2. Donath-Landsteiner' 's method repeats Ehrlich's experiment in vitro. 



