84 INFECTION AND IMMUNITY 



some cases, be successfully used in the cure of infec- 

 tious diseases, when these have not advanced too far. 

 The remarkable success attending the use of the 

 diphtheria antitoxin for this purpose is well known 

 and a certain degree of success has attended the 

 efforts of physicians in the treatment of other dis, 

 eases by the same method tetanus, erysipelas, pneu- 

 monia. But specific treatment by antitoxins is still 

 in its infancy and much careful experimental work 

 and clinical experience will be necessary in order to 

 determine the practical value of this method in the 

 diseases mentioned and in other infectious maladies. 

 Enough is known at present, however, to lead to 

 the hope that when methods have been devised for 

 obtaining these various antitoxins in a pure and con- 

 centrated form they will constitute a most valuable 

 addition to our resources for the treatment of infectious 

 diseases. Indeed the only hope of specific medication 

 for such diseases appears to lie in this direction. 



In the present volume I shall not attempt to dis- 

 cuss the questions connected with the origin of the 

 antitoxins in the bodies of immunised animals, the 

 chemical nature of these substances, or the mode of 

 their action in neutralising the toxins. These are 

 questions which would involve a considerable amount 

 of technical knowledge on the part of the reader for 



