76 TOXINS AND ANTITOXINS. 



first been strongly expressed. It is then dissolved 

 in water.* 



Tetanus Toxin. The fact that the tetanus 

 bacillus never penetrates to the interior of the 

 organism enabled us long ago to foretell that it 

 secretes a very powerful toxin capable of dia- 

 lyzing and diffusing through the economy. Kuno 

 Faber was the first to fully recognize the fact that 

 the culture bouillon of this bacillus, fully steril- 

 ized by filtration through porcelain, possesses an 

 exceedingly high toxicity, and exerts a toxic 

 effect on 50 ooo ooo times its own weight of living 

 organism. Brieger had previously, however, ex- 

 tracted three ptomaines from the cultures of the 

 bacillus tetanin, tetanotoxin, and spasmotoxin.-\ 

 In order to obtain a highly active liquid, the same 

 culture medium is inoculated several times in 

 succession, but filtering each time before the new 

 inoculation; the microbes greatly increase in 

 number after each fresh inoculation, and the toxic 

 substance developed by them accumulates.! 



Experiment has shown that the culture bouillon 

 thus obtained contains two kinds of toxic sub- 



* Roux and MARTIN: Contribution a 1' Etude de la Diphterio. 

 Annal. de V Instil. Pasteur, vm, p. 512. 



t Die Pathogenese des Tetanus. Berlin. Klin. Wochenschr. 

 1890, No. 31. 



% NAILLARD: Compt. rend, de I'Acad. des Sciences, cxx, p. 

 1181. 



