138 ANAPHYLAXIS, ALLERGY OR HYPERSENSITIVENESS 



it is destroyed or inactivated at a temperature above 65 C. The 

 poison does not form if complement is not present in solution with 

 the inactivated serum and antigen, which would suggest a resemblance 

 to other cytolytic reactions in which the specific amboceptor is acti- 

 vated by complement. 



The essential distinction between the theory of Vaughan and that 

 of Friedberger would appear to rest upon the nature of the poisonous 

 substance liberated; Vaughan would maintain the specificity of the 

 enzyme and the identity of the poisonous substances formed from 

 various proteins. Friedberger's theory, which was developed several 

 years after Vaughan's first work, would emphasize the distinction 

 between an enzyme and the specific amboceptor, which requires com- 

 plement for its activation. Keysser and Wassermann 1 and more 

 recently, Jobling and Petersen 2 have found that serum shaken with 

 kaolin, chloroform, and other agents will absorb substances from 

 serum, leaving the remainder toxic for guinea-pigs; the reaction 

 induced by the injection ef small amounts of altered serum resembles 

 closely that of anaphylaxis. Jobling and Petersen believe that the 

 toxic substance originates not from bacteria necessarily, but from 

 serum itself. Under normal conditions, anti-enzymes prevent the 

 normal serums from causing auto-autolysis; kaolin, bacteria, etc., 

 added to the serum, absorb and thus remove the anti-enzymes, thus 

 permitting the serum to digest itself. In other words, the poisonous 

 substance may originate in the serum rather than in the bacteria or 

 other alien protein. These facts do not necessarily detract from 

 Vaughan's theory, but until more is known of the entire subject, a 

 final discussion of the mechanism of anaphylaxis must be postponed. 



ANAPHYLAXIS IN MAN. 



Natural Hypersensitiveness. It has long been known that the 

 inhalation of organic substances as the pollen of various plants, or 

 emanations from horses or guinea-pigs, of peptone or other similar 

 material may excite acute coryza and that train of symptoms popu- 

 larly recognized as " hay-fever" or "pollen fever" in some, but by no 

 means all, individuals. If the specific pollen or dust is rubbed on the 

 nasal mucosa of these sensitized individuals a violent reaction will 

 take place. Other individuals develop a severe urticaria if they eat 

 certain proteins: the flesh of arthropods, particularly crabs and 

 lobsters, vegetables, eggs, milk are known to excite symptoms in indi- 



1 Ztschr. f. Hyg., 1911, Ixviii, p. 535. 



2 Jour. Exp. Med., June, 1914, xix, p. 480. 



