48 VACCINE AND SEKUM THEKAPY 



much so, that it is now taken advantage of to deter- 

 mine different kinds of protein. Besredka claims 

 that by the anaphylactic reaction he has been able to 

 determine the human or animal nature of mummies 

 many thousands of years old, and that in these cases 

 the precipitin and fixation of complement tests proved 

 quite ineffectual. It has been shown that this hyper- 

 sensibility can be passively transferred to normal 

 animals by injecting them with the serum of ana- 

 phylactic animals. This condition may also be trans- 

 mitted by inheritance. 



A number of theories of anaphylaxis have been 

 advanced, but most authorities have now come to 

 agree with the one propounded by Besredka of the 

 Pasteur Institute. This theory is that anaphylaxis is 

 the result of the presence of specific antibodies in the 

 animal into which the antigen is injected. These 

 antibodies are now believed to be attached to the 

 body cells, and the anaphylactic shock to be produced 

 when the antigen comes into contact with these anti- 

 bodies. 



The following is the text of the hypothesis of ana- 

 phylaxis put forward by Besredka. He refers to the 

 antigen as sensibiligen and the antibody as sensibilisin. 

 " What takes j)lace at the time of the second injection? 

 The newly arrived antigen comes into contact with 

 the already formed sensibilisin. The effect of this 

 affinity is to produce an intense reaction. Whether 

 this reaction disturbs the equilibrium of certain nerve 

 cells where the combination takes place, or whether 



