Toxic Products 379 



The method of preparing the solution employed by Cal- 

 mette is to precipitate the tuberculin with alcohol, dry the 

 precipitate, and dissolve it in 100 parts of distilled water. 

 One or two drops may be used. Ordinary tuberculin must 

 be avoided, as the glycerin it contains causes too much 

 irritation and masks the reaction. 



Priority in regard to the theoretical aspects of these 

 reactions seems to belong to Wolff-Eisner,* who was the 

 first to point out that the injection of all albuminous sub- 

 stances resulted in hypersensitivity instead of immunity 

 unless certain precautions were observed. Upon this ground 

 Levyf gives him credit as the founder of the method. The 

 reaction is undoubtedly one of anaphylaxis (q. v.). 



KlebsJ has made strong claims for his own modifications 

 of tuberculin, known as antiphthisin and tuber culocidin. 

 According to the experimental studies of Trudeau and Bald- 

 win, however, antiphthisin is only much diluted tuberculin, 

 and exerts no demonstrable influence upon the tubercle 

 bacillus in vitro, does not cure tuberculosis in guinea-pigs, and 

 probably inhibits the growth of the tubercle bacillus upon 

 culture media to which it has been added, only by its acid 

 reaction. The preparations are no longer mentioned in the 

 literature except as having failed to cure tuberculosis. 



The "bouillon-filtrate" (Bouillon filtre) of Denys is a 

 porcelain filtrate of bouillon culture of the tubercle bacillus 

 and corresponds to Koch's original tuberculin before con- 

 centration, except in that it has not been subjected to heat. 



Tuberculin-R. -What appears to be an important modi- 

 fication of tuberculin has been made by Koch,|| in the 

 TR or tuberculin-R. 



All attempts to produce immunity against the tubercle 

 bacillus by the injection of attenuated cultures, whether 

 dead or alive, fail because of the invariable occurrence of 

 abscesses following their introduction into the cellular 

 tissue, and of nodular growths in the lungs succeeding their 

 injection into the circulation. It seemed as if the fluids of 

 the body could not effect the solution of the bacteria and the 



* "Centralbl. f. Bakt. u. Parasitenk.," orig., xxxvn, 1904. 

 t "Verein fur innere Medizin zu Berlin," Dec. 16, 1907. 

 J "Die Behandlung der Tuberculose mit Tuberculocidin," 1892. 

 "Acad. royale de med. de Belgique," Feb. 22, 1902; abst. "Cen- 

 tralbl. f. Bakt. u. Parasitenk.," Ref., 1902, xxxi, p. 563. 

 || " Deutsche med. Wochenschrift," 1897, No. 14. 



