196 TOXINES AND ANTITOXINES. 



formation of erythrocytes, so that they thus contain more than 

 the normal quantity, and that their susceptibility is therefore 

 unmistakably increased. 



On the other hand, it is obvious, and has been confirmed 

 by the facts, that the erythrocytes in the natural serum of 

 immune animals receive very considerable protection from 

 the presence of anti-bodies in their serum. In one experiment 

 JACOBY found such blood to require ten times as much ricine 

 to produce the maximum agglutination as in the case of normal 

 blood. 



This phenomenon of the haptines combining with the free side 

 chains in preference to those in combination has been observed 

 in the case of all toxines. The free receptors appear almost 

 absolutely to have a greater degree of affinity than those attached 

 to the cells. 



This fact forms the basis of every " cure " in cases of toxine 

 poisoning i.e., the disruption by means of the an ti toxine of 

 a combination already formed with the cell. We have already 

 shown in their respective places that this curative action is only 

 possible for a very short time after the combination in the case 

 of diphtheria and tetanus ; a very similar state of things is also 

 found with the blood poisons, for MADSEN was able to detect in 

 the case of tetanolysine (q.v.), and JACOBY, in the case of ricine, 

 an arrest of agglutination through the subsequent addition of 

 antiricine. 



But, in spite of its slight affinity, the haptophore group of 

 ricine combines in the absence of free receptors just as quanti- 

 tatively with those attached to the erythrocytes ; and just as 

 tetanus poison becomes fixed to the central nervous system so is 

 ricine quantitatively attached to the erythrocytes, so that the 

 mixture has no action upon a fresh quantity of blood. 



The agglutinating action is thus completely paralysed through 

 the quantitative combination of its substratum with the erythro- 

 cytes. We ought, therefore, to conclude a priori that if ricine is 

 an individual substance the toxic power of such mixtures should 

 also be destroyed. This, however, is not the case. MULLER 

 found that the filtrates from the precipitates produced by ricine 

 were devoid of agglutinating power, but yet were poisonous, 

 although to a considerably reduced extent, and without producing 

 the typical appearances on post-mortem dissection. 



These experiments were not regarded as quite conclusive by 

 JACOBY. In his opinion it was possible that there might be still 

 some ricine mechanically carried down in the precipitate formed 

 in the blood, and that this ricine might again be liberated during 



