568 BACTERIOLOGY. 



bacterial protoplasm, and we now regard the toxic action 

 of these bacteria to be due to the formation of endotoxins 

 or intracellular toxins. 



THE ENDOTOXINS. In contradistinction to the re- 

 sults obtained in the injection of the soluble toxins the 

 action of the endotoxins is not nearly as well understood. 

 The injection of the endotoxins does not bring about the 

 formation of anti-endotoxic substances in the serum. 

 The serum of animals treated with the endotoxins has 

 merely a bactericidal action, and through the solution of 

 the bacteria protection against infection is seen, but mul- 

 tiple doses of serum do not act against corresponding 

 multiple doses of endotoxin. The treatment of animals 

 with endotoxin does not protect the animal body against 

 the action of the endotoxins. 



The endotoxins are not secreted or excreted in the 

 culture media in which the bacteria are cultivated, but 

 are associated with the bacterial cells, and are only lib- 

 erated through the solution of the bacteria that is, 

 through bacteriolysis. 



Liberation of Endotoxins. Bacteriolysis may occur, 

 on the one hand, as the result of the specific reac- 

 tion consisting in the anchoring of the amboceptors 

 contained in an immune serum through the receptors of 

 the particular organisms. After the addition of comple- 

 ment, which is normally present in the body, union takes 

 place with the receptor-amboceptor group and bacterio- 

 lysis follows. 



Besides this specific bacteriolysis there is also a non- 

 specific bacteriolysis in which the endotoxins contained in 

 the bodies of bacteria are liberated namely, through 

 autolytic actions. In old cultures of bacteria one often 

 finds only few individuals and these are usually in various 



