DISSOCIATION OF IMMUNE-BODY 15 



of the red corpuscles with which the immune-body combines, 

 then it is evident that when the combining groups of the 

 receptors are filled with immune-body, such corpuscles 

 should not give rise to immune-body when injected into 

 an animal. Von Dungern 1 , who was the first to perform 

 experiments of this kind, found that such was the case 

 the serum of an animal injected with fully sensitized cor- 

 puscles did not come to contain immune-body. Sachs 2 on 

 repeating these experiments obtained in some cases similar 

 results, but in others a certain production of immune-body 

 did occur, though this was small in amount. Neisser and 

 Lubowski 3 obtained similar results to these last by injecting 

 typhoid bacilli saturated with agglutinin, a small amount 

 of agglutinin being formed in the animal treated. From the 

 facts detailed above with regard to dissociation of immune- 

 body from red corpuscles, when they are in a medium free 

 from immune-body, it is evident that within the living 

 body the same may occur, and thus some of the receptors 

 of red corpuscles or bacteria will have their combining 

 group freed, and thus be able to act as antigens. The fact 

 that red corpuscles saturated with immune-body may in 

 some cases give rise to a certain amount of immune-body 

 in the treated animal is thus explained. We cannot say 

 why this should occur in some cases and not in others, 

 though variations in the rapidity of destruction of the cor- 

 puscles may play a part. 



ON THE CONDITION OF IMMUNE-BODY AFTER HAEMOLYSIS 

 Supposing that red corpuscles containing several hsemo- 

 lytic doses of immune-body are hsemolysed by the minimum 

 amount of complement, we have to inquire in what state 

 the surplus molecules of immune-body are. There may be 



1 Von Dungern, Munchen. Med. Wochenschr., 1900, no. 20. 

 8 Sachs, Centratbl. f. Bakter., xxx, 1901, p. 491. 

 3 Neisser and Lubowski, ibid., 1901, p. 483. 



