94 Chapter IV 



The hypothesis advanced by J. Bordet does not accord very well 

 with the theory we have just set forth. He could never convince 

 himself that the fixative combines with the complement. He was of 

 opinion rather that the fixative, retained by the corpuscle, exercises 

 upon it a mordant action which enables it to absorb the alexine. The 

 alexine is supposed to attach itself to the sensibilised red blood cor- 

 puscle as a dye attaches itself to a mordanted element. Bordet rests 

 his interpretation mainly on the fact that the absorption of alexine 

 by the sensibilised corpuscles does not follow the elementary laws of 

 chemical combination, especially those of definite multiples. 



Nolf 1 has sought to define more accurately the part played by 

 these two substances in the solution of the red blood corpuscles. 

 He agrees with Bordet, that in this phenomenon the fixative plays 

 the same part that the mordants do in dyeing. Linked to the red 

 corpuscle the fixative renders it more greedy for alexine, exactly as 

 the mordant facilitates the fixation of the dye on the fibre of the 

 textile fabric. Under these conditions the alexine (complement), 

 finding itself in large quantity inside the red corpuscle, exercises 

 upon it its hydrating action, thus bringing about the diffusion of 

 the haemoglobin and often even the solution of the corpuscular 

 stroma. 



Nolf compares the solvent action of alexine upon the red corpuscle 

 to that of certain mineral salts, such as ammonium chloride. He 

 passes in review the various properties of alexines and finds them 

 very similar to the solvent action of certain salts. Even the pecu- 

 liarity of alexine, of remaining inactive at a temperature of 3C., 

 is shared by ammonium chloride which, alone of all the salts studied 

 by Nolf, exercises no solvent action under these conditions. But Nolf 

 found it impossible to push these analogies further, and especially to 

 sensibilise, by the fixative, the red corpuscles to the action of quan- 

 tities, which were of themselves inactive, either of ammonium chloride 

 or of any other salt. 



[101] London' 2 hoped by fresh experiments to solve the problem of the 

 mode of action of the two substances which act in haemolysis. He 

 pronounced in favour of the theory that they entered into chemical 

 combination with the red corpuscles. But the facts accumulated 

 up to the present do not enable us to make a positive statement 

 as to the exact nature of the reaction which is set up during the 



1 Ann. de FInst. Pasteur, Paris, 1900, t. xiv, p. 656. 



2 Arch. d. sc. biol. (russes), 1901, t. vm, pp. 281 and 323. 



