122 Immunity 



of one animal may act as antigens when introduced into 

 another. Thus, Ehrlich and Morgenroth in their studies of 

 hemolysis found that serums rich in immune bodies produced 

 reactions yielding anti-immune bodies, which inhibited the 

 activities of the respective immune bodies by whose stimula- 

 tion they were produced. 



The reactions which when repeated may lead to immunity 

 and to the formation of antibodies seem to be followed by 

 constitutional disturbances much more profound than 

 would be supposed from the apparent freedom from symp- 

 toms manifested by the animal. As early as 1839 Magendie 

 observed that if a rabbit was given an injection of albumin, 

 and then, some days later, a second injection, it was made 

 very ill and might die. About 1900 Mattson called the 

 author's attention in private conversation to the fact that 

 when guinea-pigs used for testing antitoxic serums were sub- 

 sequently injected with another dose of serum, they com- 

 monly died. Not being understood, the matter was not 

 thought worthy of publication. Otto* speaks of this fatal 

 action of serums as the "Theobald-Smith phenomenon," the 

 fact having first been pointed out to him by Smith. 



The first to realize the importance of the condition seem 

 to have been Portier and Richet,| who studied the effect 

 of extracts of the poisonous tentacles of actiniens upon 

 dogs which were found to die more quickly and from smaller 

 doses given at a second injection than at the first. To 

 this increase of sensitivity to the poison brought about by 

 the initial dose they gave the name anaphylaxis (av nega- 

 tive, yoXaZts protection, destroying protection or breaking 

 down the defenses). 



The therapeutic employment of diphtheria antitoxic serum 

 was scarcely popularized before the medical profession was 

 shocked by the sudden death of the healthy child of a 

 noted German professor after a prophylactic injection, and 

 in 1896 GottsteinJ was able to collect 8 deaths following 

 the use of the serum, 4 of them being persons not ill with 

 diphtheria. von Pirquet and Schick also pointed out 

 that in a certain proportion of cases the injection of horse- 

 serum in man is followed by urticarial eruptions, joint-pains, 

 fever, swelling of the lymph-bodes, edema and albuminuria, 

 * von Lenthold, "Gedenkschrift," Bd. i, pp. 9, 16, 18. 

 t "Compte rendu de la Soc. de Biol. de Paris," 1902. 

 J "Therap. Monatschrift," 1896. 

 "Die Serumkrankheit," Leipzig and Wien, 1905. 



