x CONTENTS 



PAGE 



bodies as a whole. Generalization of the facts discovered in the case 

 of bacteria. Haemolysins. Cytotoxins. Haemagglutinins. Precipitins 

 to unformed proteins. Conception of an antigen. Nature of antigens. 

 Analogy of immunity with drug tolerance. 

 Origin of antibodies. 



CHAPTER V. TOXIN AND ANTITOXIN 104 



Nature of the reaction. Earlier views. Calmette's work on snake 

 poison. Filtration experiments. Morgenroth 's work on HCl-toxin modi- 

 fications. Ehrlich's ricin neutralization. Development of the neutrali- 

 zation ideas by Ehrlich and Behring. Conception of antitoxin unit. 

 Instability of toxin. Ehrldch 's experiments. The conceptions of 

 M.L.D., LO and L + doses. Discrepancy between L and L+. Toxoids 

 and toxons. Method of partial absorption. Toxin spectrum. Opinions 

 of Arrhenius & Madsen. Bordet's opinion. The Danysz effect. THE 

 SIDE CHAIN THEORY. Early work of Knorr. Ehrlich's analogy of cell 

 with chemical substances. Analogy with ferments. Weigert's law of 

 overcompensation. Antibodies and cell receptors. Theoretical con- 

 clusions drawn from work with tetanus poison. Importance of lipoidal 

 substances in brain tissue. 



CHAPTER VI. BACTERICIDAL PROPERTIES OF BLOOD SERUM, CYTOLYSIS AND 



SENSITIZATION .......... 134 



The phenomenon of bacteriolysis and the bactericidal effect. Haemo- 

 lysis. The mechanism of cytolysis. Amboceptor or sensitizer? The 

 complement or alexin. Iso-antibodies. Discussion of views of Ehrlich 

 and Bordet. Multiplicity of antibodies. Multiplicity of complement 

 or alexin. Anti-antibodies. Neisser and Wechsberg phenomenon of 

 complement deviation. Quantitative relation between complement and 

 amboceptor. Conglutinins. 



CHAPTER VII. DEVELOPMENT OF OUR KNOWLEDGE CONCERNING COMPLE- 



. MENT OR ALEXIN. COMPLEMENT FIXATION . . ... 168 



Origin of alexin. Microcytase and Macrocytase. Anti-lysins. Alexin in 

 osdema fluids, etc. The question of alexin in the circulating blood. 

 Alexin and the thyroid. Alexin and the liver. Chemical nature of 

 complement and alexin. Cobra-lecithid. Enzyme-like nature of alexin. 

 Filtration of alexin. Complement or alexin splitting. Return to activ- 

 ity of inactivated alexin on standing. Inactivation by shaking. 

 ALEXIN FIXATION. Bordet-Gengou experiments. Theoretical explana- 

 tion of these facts. Albuminolysins of Gengou. Alexin fixation by 

 precipitates. Views of earlier writers. Nicoll 's view. Writer 's opinion. 

 Conception of ' ' Bordet-antibody. ' ' Nonspecific alexin fixation. Impor- 

 tance of lipoids. Fixation by unsensitized cells, substances in sus- 

 pension. Anticomplementary properties of serum. 



CHAPTER VIII. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS OF COMPLEMENT-FIXATION 



METHOD. THE WASSERMANN REACTION 198 



Historical. Early work on monkeys. First use of human beings. 

 Theories of the Wassermann reaction. Methods of preparing antigen. 

 Titration of antigen. Titration of haemolytic sensitizer. Alexin titra- 

 tion. Performance of the test. Noguchi's modification. Modifica- 

 tions of Bauer, Stern and others. Results of test. Reliability. Spinal 

 fluid, etc. COMPLEMENT OR ALEXIN FIXATION FOR THE DETERMINATION 

 OF UNKNOWN PROTEIN. Neisser-Sachs method. Principles of the 

 method. Performance of test. COMPLEMENT-FIXATION TESTS IN DIAG- 

 NOSIS OF MALIGNANT NEOPLASMS. Historical. Von DungenTs method. 

 Results obtained. Complement-fixation in glanders. Complement-fixa- 

 tion in gonococcus infections. Complement-fixation in tuberculosis. 



