236 TOXINES AND ANTITOXINES. 



per os the poison has no effect. It has also a hcemolytic action, 

 and promotes coagulation. 



Hence the lathrodectes contains a true toxine which in many 

 cases has first an irritant action upon the heart and central 

 nervous system, but, eventually, invariably causes paralysis. 



Arachnolysine. 



Of the German spiders Chiracanthium nutrix appears to 

 contain a poison which has not yet been investigated. 



ROBERT found, however, in the common garden spider, Aranea 

 diademata (Epeira diadema), a toxine completely analogous to 

 lathrodectes poison ; it, too, was very poisonous, and it was 

 possible to produce immunity against it. It was somewhat less 

 active, but more stable, than lathrodectes poison. 



The extracts of other German spiders were inert. The poison 

 of the garden spider was also found by KOBERT to possess heemo- 

 lytic powers, which were subsequently more closely investigated 

 by HANS SACHS, 1 with the aid of Ehrlich's method. 



Arachnolysine has a very rapid and intense solvent action upon 

 the blood-corpuscles, but there is great variation in the resistance 

 offered by the corpuscles of different species of animals. The 

 blood-corpuscles of the rat and of the rabbit are the most sus- 

 ceptible, 0'028 mgrm. completely dissolving 0*05 cm. of the 

 blood. On the other hand, the blood of the guinea-pig, horse, 

 sheep, and ox is absolutely refractory. 



The blood-corpuscles of chickens are quite insusceptible, 

 according to SACHS, 2 in consequence of a total lack of receptors. 

 It is only when these first blood-corpuscles have gradually dis- 

 appeared that the lysine has any action, and it is not until after 

 two to four weeks that the normal susceptibility of hen's blood 

 is attained. 



The toxine is not very sensitive to the action of heat, and can 

 resist a temperature of 70 C. for forty minutes. 



Insusceptible blood-corpuscles do not combine with the poison, 

 so that the behaviour of this lysine is quite in accord with that 

 of other haptines. A further point of agreement is that arachno- 

 lysine enters into combination with the stroma of susceptible 

 blood-corpuscles. 



SACHS, by immunising guinea-pigs and rabbits, succeeded in 



1 Sachs, "Zur Kenntnis des Kreuzspinnengiftes," Hofm. Beitr., ii., 125, 

 1902. 



2 Sachs, "Ueber Differenzen der Blutbeschaffenheit in verschied. Lebens- 

 altern," Centralbl. f. Eakt., xxxiv., 686, 1903 (reprint). 



