410 PROTEIN POISONS 



20. The evident sources of excessive heat production in 

 fever are the following: (a) That arising from the unusual 

 activity of the cells supplying the enzyme; (6) that arising 

 from the cleavage of the foreign protein; (c) that arising 

 from the destructive reaction between the split products, 

 from the foreign protein and the proteins of the body. 



In 1910 Friedberger 1 studied the effects of graduated 

 doses of foreign proteins on the temperature of both normal 

 and sensitized animals. With lambs' serum intravenously 

 administered to normal guinea-pigs he obtained the following 

 results : 



5.0 c.c. equal fatal dose. 



0.5 c.c. equals limit for fall in temperature. 



0.01 c.c. equals upper constant. 



0.005 c.c. equals fever plane. 



0.001 c.c. equals lower constant. 



In sensitized guinea-pigs the above figures were changed 

 to the following: 



0.005 c.c. equals fatal dose. 

 0.0005 c.c. equals limit for fall. 

 0.00001 c.c. equals upper constant. 

 0.000005 c.c. equals limit for fever. 

 0.000001 c.c. equals lower constant. 



In 1911 Schittenhelm, Weichardt, and Hartmann 2 

 experimented upon the effect of the parenteral administra- 

 tion of diverse proteins on animal temperature and came 

 to the following conclusion, which in our opinion is well 

 stated : " In severe experimental anaphylaxis there is a 

 fall in temperature; in the lighter manifestations there is 

 fever." We regard this as a confirmation of our conclusion 

 reached some years earlier. "Small, especially repeated, 

 doses of the protein poison cause fever, while large doses 

 depress the temperature." 



Some years ago Friedmann and Isaak 3 showed that after 

 the parenteral introduction of foreign proteins the increase 

 in nitrogen elimination is greater than can be accounted 



1 Berl. klin. Woch., 1910, No. 42. 



2 Zeitsch. f. exp. Path. u. Ther., 1911. 3 Ibid., 1905, 1906, and 1908. 



