TETANUS TOXINE. 119 



and WASSERMANN, the central nervous system has a protective 

 influence, not because it offers a point of attack for the toxophore 

 group, but because it contains receptors, which may also be 

 present in other tissues. 



Against this view METSCHNIKOFP raised the objection that 

 even the brain of frogs has absolutely no protective influence. 

 Although frogs are absolutely insusceptible to tetanus in the 

 cold, yet when warmed above 20 C. they are extremely sus- 

 ceptible, as is also the case to a less extent with other amphibia 

 and reptiles, and also with marmots (BiL LINGER 1 ), which do not 

 die during hibernation (i.e., when their temperature is lower), 

 but only after they wake from their sleep. Bats, too, when kept 

 cold, exhibit considerable resistance so long as they sleep (MEYER 

 and HALSEY, loc. cit.). Now the brain of the frog does not 

 combine with, or show any protective influence against, tetanus 

 toxine, and no antitoxine ever appears in the body of the frog 

 when poisoned with tetanus. Although this assertion is doubt- 

 less correct, and although the process of the breaking off and free 

 movement of the haptophore groups has as yet been but little 

 explained, yet the interpretation given by METSCHNIKOFF of this 

 phenomenon viz., that the central nervous system of the frog 

 does not combine in the slightest degree with tetanus toxine 

 is certainly not correct. MoRGENROTH, 2 in a very interesting 

 research, was able to demonstrate that tetanus poison, even in 

 the cold, does unquestionably combine, although slowly, with the 

 central nervous system of the frog, but that the toxophore group 

 is inactive. On raising the temperature, however, it immediately 

 begins to act. 



The combination of the toxine with the central nervous system 

 takes place very rapidly after its injection into the circulatory 

 system. DECROLY and RoNSSE 3 showed that in the case of 

 rabbits the blood was not poisonous even one minute after the 

 intravenous injection of a lethal dose of tetanus poison. Such is 

 the rapidity with which the toxine disappears from the blood. 4 



1 Billinger, " Winterschlaf und Infektion," Wien. Uin. Woch., 1896, 769. 



2 Morgenroth, "Zur Kenntnis des Tetanus des Frosches," Arch. Inter- 

 nal, d. Pharmacodynamie, viii., 255, 1900 (reprint). 



3 Decroly and Ronsse, "Pouvoir toxique et antitoxique du Sang, &c.," 

 Arch. Internat. de Pharmacodyn. , vi., 211, 1899. 



4 Donitz (vide supra), of course, assumes that in the case of rabbits 

 receptors are also present in other organs, and that this accounts for the 

 extraordinarily rapid disappearance of the toxine. In the case of guinea- 

 pigs and mice it circulates longer in the blood. I have already had 

 frequent opportunities of calling attention to the importance of such 

 distributed receptors. 



