302 



THE TUBERCULIN REACTION 



early days of the use of the fluid, when it was hailed as a specific 

 cure for the disease, and Koch's limitations of its use ignored. At 

 present it is used as a method of diagnosis, and found to be of 

 great value and devoid of danger if used with proper precautions. 

 And there can be no doubt that the bad results obtained when the 



Normal 

 98 



FIG. 70. SEVERE TUBERCULIN REACTION IN A CASE OF BAZIN'S DISEASE. 

 (Under Dr. Whitfield.) 



potentialities of the substance were so little known have led to its 

 being unjustly abandoned as a method of cure. Properly applied 

 to suitable cases, it has proved of great value. 



The reaction is a specific one, except that it is sometimes given 

 in patients with syphilis, leprosy, or actinomycosis. This is 

 unusual. 



When patients are treated with gradually increasing doses of 

 tuberculin they become partially immunized, so that no febrile 



