TETANUS TOX7NES. 361 



alcoholic precipitate from filtered culture in bouillon, and was 

 undoubtedly toxic. The toxic properties of bacterium-free 

 filtrates of pure cultures of the B. tetani were investigated 

 in 1891 by Kitasato. He found that when the filtrate, in 

 certain doses, was injected subcutaneously or intravenously 

 into mice, tetanic spasms developed, first in muscles contigu- 

 ous to the site of inoculation and later all over the body. 

 Death resulted. He found that guinea-pigs were more sus- 

 ceptible than mice, and rabbits less so. No effect followed 

 if the toxine were given in the animal's food. It is destroyed 

 by the hydrochloric acid of the stomach. In order that 

 a strongly toxic bouillon be produced, it must originally 

 have been either neutral or slightly alkaline. Kitasato 

 further found that the toxine was easily injured by heat. 

 Exposure for a few minutes at 65 C. destroyed it. It was 

 also destroyed by twenty minutes' exposure at 60 C. and 

 by one and a half hours' at 55 C. Drying had no effect. It 

 was, however, destroyed by various chemicals such as pyro- 

 gallol and also by sunlight. Behring has more recently 

 pointed out that after the filtration of cultures containing 

 toxine, the latter may very rapidly lose its power, and in a 

 few days may only possess y^j-th of its original toxicity. 

 This he attributes to such factors as temperature and light, 

 and especially to the action of oxygen. 



Various attempts have been made to find out the nature 

 of this toxine. Sidney Martin derived from the organs of 

 persons dead of tetanus two classes of bodies. One of these 

 consisted of a purified alcoholic precipitate (formed chiefly 

 of albumoses). To these he attributes a fever -producing 

 action. The other bodies were those soluble in alcohol 

 and also in ether. They were non-proteid, and to them he 

 attributed the excitation of the muscular spasms in tetanus. 

 Uschinsky, moreover, has found that the bacillus can pro- 

 duce its toxine when growing in a fluid containing no proteid 

 matter. The toxine may thus result from a metabolic action 

 on the part of the bacillus, and not from the breaking up of 

 the albumins on which it is living, though it no doubt has 

 a digestive action on albumin. Brieger also has now 



