96 BACTERIOLOGY 



It is marketed in the syringe containers and also in 

 powder form for use in the treatment of suspected 

 wounds. 



Use, Administration, and Dosage. Wassermann and 

 Takaki found that after mixing tetanus toxin with brain 

 ,substance it could be injected into animals with im- 

 punity. So firmly is the toxin united to the brain cells 

 that it fails to affect the tissues of the animal into which 

 it is injected. 



Owing to the peculiar affinity of the tetanus toxin for 

 the cells of the central nervous system, as shown by 

 the above experiment and as borne out by the charac- 

 teristic symptoms of the disease, the greatest value of the 

 antitoxin lies in its use as a preventive rather than as 

 a curative measure. Therefore, all punctured wounds 

 of a suspicious character, as nail wounds, blank-cartridge 

 wounds, and wounds likely to be contaminated with 

 garden earth or stable manure, should be thoroughly 

 opened to the air, dusted with antitetanic dusting- 

 powder, and a full dose (15,000 units) of the serum in- 

 jected at the earliest possible moment. This should be 

 repeated in eight or ten days. When the disease is 

 already established, in addition to large and repeated 

 doses subcutaneously, the antitoxin may be introduced 

 into the spinal canal by lumbar puncture, that it may be 

 brought into immediate contact with the toxin in the 

 central nervous system. The wound should be laid 

 open by free incision, and the antitoxin used in and about 



