CHAPTER XXII. 



PRINCIPLES OF SEROTHERAPY. 



In the strict sense serotherapy means the in- 

 jection of antitoxic or antibacterial serums for 

 curative or prophylactic purposes; this is passive 

 immunization or direct serotherapy. Active im- 

 munization, in which the tissues of the individ- 

 ual are induced to form antitoxins or antibacterial 

 substances as a result of vaccination or protective 

 inoculations, may be considered as indirect sero- 

 therapy. We may, therefore, include tho latter as 

 one of the serotherapeutic measures. 



Bearing in mind the significance of the terms 

 active and passive immunization, and the fact 

 that they may be used for curative and prophylac- 

 tic purposes, the various procedures may be classi- 

 fied as follows:* 



I. PROPHYLACTIC INJECTIONS. 



classification A. Active immunization, in which vaccina- 

 I tion and protective inoculations are included, as 

 with the organisms of typhoid, cholera and plague. 

 Depending on the material injected, the result is 

 the formation of antitoxins or antimicrobic sub- 

 stances (amboceptors) ; agglutinins are formed in- 

 cidentally. 



1. Inoculation of virulent organisms, (a) In- 

 oculation with small amounts of a virulent organ- 

 ism, i. e., of a non-fatal dose; used principally in 

 experimental work. (&) Inoculation with virulent 



* Modified from Deutsch and Feistmantel In "Die 

 Impfstoffe und Heilsera," Leipsic. Geo. Thieme, 1903. 



