44 ANAPHYLAXIS AND ANTI-ANAPHYLAXIS 



Starting from the idea that the serum contained 

 a true poison, we set ourselves to attack this poison 

 by the most varied chemical substances — perman- 

 ganate of potash, alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, chloro- 

 form, ferments, alkaloids, salts — but all these attempts 

 to destroy the so-called anaphylactic poison came 

 to nothing. 



We were not more successful with atropine, strych- 

 nine, morphia, caffeine, calcium chloride, magnesium 

 sulphate, ox-bile, formaldehyde; whilst the same 

 failure confronted us in alternately freezing and 

 thawing the serum. Maintaining the serum at 

 60° C. for six consecutive hours, after the method of 

 Rosenau and Anderson, had likewise no effect on the 

 toxicity, and a temperature of no less than 100° C. 

 for fifteen minutes was necessary to destroy the 

 toxicity of the serum. 



Starting from the conception prevailing at this 

 time on the subject of serum poison, we also, in our 

 turn, strove to attenuate the poison. Let us say at 

 once that all our attempts to alter the toxicity of the 

 serum by means of chemical products, one after 

 another, completely failed; neither Gram's solution, 

 nor precipitation with distilled water, nor extraction 

 with ether, nor prolonged contact (for two days) 

 with animal charcoal, altered the toxicity of the 

 serum for the sensitised guinea-pig. 



We decided to try physical agents, and to have 

 recourse afterwards to various histological processes. 

 Our previous experiences shewed that the toxicity 

 of sera varied in different cases, and that some sera 

 may be extremely toxic, whilst others maj'^ be much 

 less so. Thus, the French sera used in our examination 

 proved to be so feebly toxic that to produce anaphy- 

 lactic shock it was necessary to inject not less than 

 o-i-0'i25 c.c. either into the brain or intravenously. 



In seeking the cause of this feeble toxicity of our 



