170 TOXINES AND ANTITOXINES. 



started from the observation that dead tubercle bacilli remained 

 undecomposed in the body for a very long period, and were 

 therefore not absorbed. But, according to him, so long as they 

 retain their form, immunity against the bacilli cannot be pro- 

 duced ; and it is only after their decomposition, but too late 

 for any curative action, that a slight bactericidal immunity is 

 attained. KOCH, therefore, endeavoured to get nearer to his 

 goal by breaking up the bacilli and using an emulsion of their 

 cell constituents for the inoculation. For this purpose he first 

 dried the bacilli rapidly, and then triturated them mechanically. 

 The masses were treated with distilled water, and repeatedly 

 subjected to centrifugal force. The first portion separated was 

 soluble in water, but was not only non-poisonous, but also devoid 

 of any immunising power (T.O.). It was only the second and 

 third " centrifugates " that contained the substance with specific 

 action. These preparations were termed "T.R." by KOCH. 

 They were found to possess immunising and therapeutic powers 

 without any particular toxic action, and notably without abscess 

 formation or inflammation. It was found best to use young 

 cultivations dried in vacuo, and to protect the preparations from 

 light as far as possible. 



H. BuCHNER, 1 working alone and also in collaboration with 

 HAHN, 2 isolated from the bacilli by means of E. Buchner's 

 method of applying enormous pressure, expressed fluids "plas- 

 mines" with which he believed that he obtained specific effects, 

 although he himself regarded the question as still unsettled. 



BEHRING 3 described a poison obtained by means of glycerin 

 water at 150 C. from the finely-divided bacteria after extraction 

 of the fat, and stated that 1 grm. of this was sufficient to kill 

 1,250 mice. It was neutralised by the serum of a cow cured of 

 tuberculosis (antitoxine formation ]). 



LANDMANN 4 claimed to have discovered an active tubercle poison in his 

 "tuberhdol" and asserted that it destroyed a guinea-pig of 250 grms. when 

 injected in a dose of O'l grm. 



He macerated tubercle bacilli for a long time at 40 C. with a physio- 

 logical solution of salt, distilled water and glycerin ; then decanted the 



1 H. Buchner, " Zur Koch's Mitt, iiber neue Tuberkulinpniparate," 

 Berl. Uin. Woch., 1897, 322; id., "Die Bedeutung d. aktiven losl. 

 Zellprodukte, &c.," Munch, med. Woch., 1897, 12. 



2 Hahn, "Immun. u. Heilungvers. mit den plasmat. Zellsaften," Munch, 

 med. Woch., 1897, 1344. 



3 Behring, "Autoreferat iiber den Vortrag in Madrid," Deutsch. med. 

 Woch., 1898, 293. 



, 4 Landmann, " Ueb. eine neue Meth. der Tuberkulosetoxin-Behandlung," 

 Hyg. Rundschau, x., 168; Centralbl.f. Bakt., xxvii., 280, 1900. 



