CHAPTER VI. 



ANTITOXINS AND SERUM THERAPY. 



IT has been clearly shown by the experiments of Fodor and Nuttall 

 that some species of bacteria are killed by a mixture with fresh 

 blood. Fodor pointed this out in the case of the anthrax bacillus, 

 and Nnttall confirmed the experiments, and repeated them with 

 a number of different species of bacteria. 



Behring and Nissen followed up this line of inquiry, and found 

 that there was a great difference in the behaviour of freshly drawn 

 blood to different bacteria. In some cases the bacteria were 

 destroyed, in others their growth was only retarded, and in others 

 again they were not affected at all. Bouchard pointed out that 

 although the normal blood serum of a rabbit may be used for the 

 cultivation of Bacillus pyocyaneus, the blood serum of a rabbit, which 

 has been rendered immune, will attenuate or entirely nullify the 

 pathogenic properties of the bacillus. 



Ogata and Jasuhara obtained similar results by cultivating 

 anthrax bacilli in the blood of immune animals. Buchner demon- 

 strated that this property of fresh blood belonged to the serum 

 and not to the cellular elements, and strongly advocated the theory 

 that the force opposed to invading bacteria was to be found in the 

 serum rather than in phagocytes. 



Similar experiments were made with the bacteria of swine-fever, 

 and Emmerich and Mastbaum discovered that the blood serum of 

 immune rabbits could be used as a therapeutic agent to prevent 

 the progress of the disease in animals already showing symptoms 

 of infection. 



A new light was thrown upon this question by the experiments 

 of Behring, Kitasato, Tizzoni and Cattani, and others in connection 

 with tetanus and diphtheria. In these diseases the bacteria do not 

 invade the body, but the poisonous principles elaborated at the 

 seat of inoculation are absorbed into the system and produce 

 deleterious effects. It was obvious that attention must be turned 

 towards counteracting or destroying these poisonous products. 



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