608 INFECTION AND IMMUNITY. 



dure much valuable information has been obtained 

 in regard to the avoidance of injections during the 

 "negative phase" and the regulation of the size of 

 the doses. 



It is still a disputed question as to whether 

 the condition of the patient as an indication for 

 tuberculin injection can best be judged by the 

 clinical symptoms or by the estimation of the 

 opsonic index. There is no question, however, 

 but that in suitable cases the proper application of 

 vaccine treatment in tuberculosis is a valuable 

 therapeutic aid. 

 of Maragliano publishes the following conclusions: 

 ^ ajt ig poss jble to produce a specific (serum) 

 therapy for tuberculosis; (2) It is possible to 

 immunize the animal organism against tuberculo- 

 sis as is done in other infectious diseases, and 

 there is good reason for hope for an antitubercu- 

 losis vaccination for man." He recognizes bacteri- 

 cidal, antitoxic and agglutinating properties of the 

 serum as normal defensive powers of the body, and 

 says that these powers are increased as the result 

 of immunization. The bactericidal power of the 

 serum is determined by its ability to inhibit the 

 growth of cultures of the tubercle bacillus; its 

 antitoxic power by its ability to neutralize a test 

 poison which is obtained from cultures by macerat- 

 ing them in hot water; and its agglutinating 

 power is tested with the homogeneous cultures of 

 Courmont and Arloing. For the immunization of 

 animals a soluble toxin prepared by the filtration 

 of young cultures, and also the intracellular toxins 

 which are extracted by water from killed virulent 

 bacilli, are injected. By using both substances, 



