TOXINS AND ANTITOXINS 69 



the presence of gas bacillus infection and determination of the 

 variety of the bacteria. 



3. Administration of specific serum, either single or polyvalent 

 or " pooled," according as there are one or more gas formers found, 

 and also the administration of anti-streptococcus serum, since the 

 latter organism is very commonly found in association with the 

 other organisms. 



From the general reports obtained during the Great War it is 

 considered that intravenous injection is to be preferred, in combina- 

 tion with deep muscular injections in the vicinity of the wound. 

 From these reports it seems, then, that the use of a polyvalent anti- 

 bacterial and antitoxic serum is advisable, but much work on the 

 subject must yet be done. From all the observations at hand it is 

 safe to state that the best results are to be obtained from 

 preventive injections. 



Bacterial Hemotoxins. As an example of the hemotoxins pro- 

 duced by bacteria certain details of staphylolysin may be consid- 

 ered. The hemotoxin is produced by twelve to thirteen days' 

 growth of staphylococcus pyogenes aureus or albus in broth. The 

 organisms are killed and the broth filtered through a porcelain 

 filter. The filtrate can be preserved by the addition of 5 per cent, of 

 a solution made up of 10 parts phenol, 20 parts glycerol, and 70 parts 

 water. Doses of 0.025 to 0.05 c.c. should completely hemolyze one 

 drop of rabbit blood after two hours at 37 C. Antilysin may be 

 produced by immunization of animals and is found normally to a 

 slight extent in normal human blood and in that of certain lower 

 animals. The victims of staphylococcus infections frequently show 

 an increased antilysin content of the serum. This fact has been em- 

 ployed by Bruck, Michaelis, and Schultze to diagnose staphylococcus 

 infections, some cases showing increases of ten to one hundred times 

 over the normal antilysin. The simplicity of bacteriological exami- 

 nation, however, makes this method of diagnosis by comparison 

 rather cumbersome and time consuming. Whether or not antilytic 

 sera would be of value in the treatment of those cases that resist or 

 are unsuitable for vaccine treatment has not been determined so far 

 as we have been able to learn. 



PHYTOTOXINS 



Introduction. Although literally the phytotoxins include all the 

 toxins of vegetable origin the term usually is restricted to include 

 those originating in forms of vegetable life higher than the bacteria. 

 With this definition thought would be first directed to the poison- 

 ous fungi, but as has already been shown, only one of the poisons so 

 far isolated is capable of inducing antibody formation. The poison- 

 ous elements of poison ivy and poison oak produce no antibodies. 

 The poisonous elements of those plants that produce " hay fever " 

 require separate discussion, because the toxic factor operates only 

 on individuals who show a peculiar susceptibility or " hypersus- 



