136 TOXIN ES AND ANTITOXINES. 



so that solution takes place after separating the mixture by 

 centrifugal force and applying heat. MORGENROTH (p. 121) was 

 able to demonstrate the occurrence of similar phenomena in the 

 case of tetanus in the frog, 



A further analogy with diphtheria poison is seen in the mode 

 of the formation of toxoids. Thus, tetanolysine decreases in 

 strength very rapidly, and mainly, as in the case of diphtheria 

 poison, at the cost of the prototoxine zone. The deuterotoxine 

 zone is relatively more stable. 



Like tetanus poison, tetanolysine differs from diphtheria poison 

 in requiring a certain amount of time, even several hours, to 

 combine with the antitoxine. 



Its action upon the erythrocytes also does not begin at once, 

 but only after a certain period of incubation, which decreases 

 with the increase in the amount of poison. 



ARRHENIUS and MADS EN (loc. cit.) have made a closer examina- 

 tion of this incubation period, and attribute it to the restrictive 

 effect of the membrane (see General Part). 



According to ARRHENIUS and MADSEN it is not absolutely 

 indispensable to assume the existence of poison spectra, as 

 described above, in the case of tetanolysine, and, in their opinion, 

 the quantitative ratios can be better explained by the hypothesis 

 of dissociated conditions of equilibrium such as we described at 

 length in the General Part. I have, however, cited MADSEX'S 

 investigations for their bearing on EHRLICH'S " spectra " and the 

 conclusions originally drawn from them, because it is not 

 definitely decided that there is a plurality of poisons in this case. 



The results obtained by TIZZONI and CENTANNI l show that the 

 toxoids can also have an immunising effect, for they found that 

 an anti-body to the lysine could be prepared by means of tetano- 

 spasmine which apparently contained no lysine. 



Further experiments made by MADSEN 2 upon tetanolysine are 

 very interesting, and have also an important bearing upon the 

 question of the therapeutic action of antitoxines i.e., upon their 

 power of again liberating the lysine from its combination with 

 the cell. It was found that, by the addition of antilysine, lysine 

 in combination with the blood-corpuscles could be liberated 

 again, and that the blood platelet could be "healed" even after 

 it had been attacked. The necessary dose, however, increased 

 very rapidly, just as in the case of diphtheria poison and tetano- 



1 Tizzoni and Centanni, Real Accad. Bologna, 1900, quoted by Neisser 

 and Wechsberg, loc. cit. 



2 Madsen, "Ueber Heilversuche im Reagenzglas " Zeit.f. Hyg., xxxii., 

 239, 1899. 



