DIPLOCOCCUS GONORRHCEjE 553 



and temporary systemic reactions have been produced by subcutaneous 

 and intraperitoneal inoculation. A toxin has been isolated by Niko- 

 laysen 18 by extraction from the bacterial bodies with distilled water or 

 sodium hydrate solutions. It was found to be resistant to a tempera- 

 ture of 120 and to remain potent after complete drying. The same 

 author found that the isolated toxin and dead cultures were fully as 

 toxic for animals as living cultures, 0.01 gram killing a white mouse. 



Specific injury to the nervous system by injections of gonococcus 

 toxin has been reported by Moltschanoff. 19 



The secretion of a true soluble toxin by the gonococcus, asserted by 

 Christmas, 20 is denied by Wassermann, 21 Nikolaysen, 22 and others. 

 Christmas, 23 and, more recently, Torrey, 24 have reported successful 

 active immunization of animals by repeated injections of whole 

 bacteria. Torrey and others apparently have successfully treated 

 human cases by injections of the serum of immunized animals. 



Antibodies to Gonoooccus. Patients infected with gonococci 

 seem to produce antibodies against the organisms. Although in the 

 ordinary gonorrheal urethritis, or vaginitis, it is relatively simple to make 

 the diagnosis by finding gonococci in the discharges, diagnosis may be 

 difficult in cases of gonorrheal rheumatism, or endocarditis, when 

 isolation of the bacteria fails or when the connection between the local 

 venereal disease and the general condition is obscure. Various sero- 

 logical diagnostic methods have been attempted, and of recent years 

 the complement-fixation test has' been found to be very useful. The 

 method has been especially developed by Archibald McNeil, at the 

 New York Department of Health. It consists in making a polyvalent 

 antigen, using the 10 Torrey strains which are kept in stock transplants 

 on glucose ascitic agar. It has been found that the best medium for 

 antigen production is an agar made of "bob veal." For the production 

 of antigen, stock cultures are transplanted on "bob veal" agar, without 

 salt, glucose or ascitic fluid, the reaction carefully adjusted to an acidity 

 of 0.1 per cent to 0.2 per cent. Twenty-four hour growths on this 

 medium are scraped off and emulsified in neutral sterile distilled water. 

 The emulsion is autolyzed one hour in a water bath at 56 and heated 



NiTcolaysen, Cent. f. Bakt., 1897. 

 "Moltschanoff, Munch, med. Woch., 1899. 



20 Christmas, Ann. de 1 'Inst. Pasteur, 1897. 



21 Wassermann, Zeit. f. Hyg., xxvii, 1897. 



22 Nikolaysen, Fort. d. Med.,.xxi, 1897. 



23 Christmas, loc cit. 



24 ' orre y^ Jour. Amer. Med. Assn., xlvi, 1906. 



