390 INFECTION AND RESISTANCE 



since Eosenau and Anderson 13 failed to confirm it and claim that 

 ether narcosis merely masks the symptoms but does not prevent 

 death. If we admit the beneficial effects of ether, ^ioreover, it may 

 well be that this is accomplished by relaxation of the bronchial 

 spasms, known, since Auer and Lewis, to be the cause of death in 

 guinea pigs, and the action of ether could hardly be utilized, there- 

 fore, to argue in favor of a central localization of the anaphylactic 

 process. 



That phase of the two theories so far mentioned, therefore, which 

 depends upon the assumption of two separate substances in the orig- 

 inal antigen does not seem established nor even sufficiently likely 

 to warrant the formulation of a theory upon it. 



The second premise is the necessary participation of the body 

 cell, in that the reaction cannot take place unless the cells are ren- 

 dered vulnerable by preliminary alteration. In Gay and Southard's 

 theory this is accomplished by irritation exerted by the "anaphy- 

 lactin;" in Besredka's scheme this is due to the antisensibilisin which 

 is attached to the nerve cells. In both cases a gradual preliminary 

 preparation of the cells is necessary, a view which is still held by 

 many observers on strong evidence, although we know from the 

 cited experiments of Friedemann, Biedl and Kraus, and others, that 

 anaphylaxis can be produced in a normal animal by the injection 

 of previously mixed antigen and sensitive serum, if the experimental 

 conditions are properly understood and observed. 



All other views of the mechanism of anaphylaxis have held that, 

 in substance, this reaction is a true antigen-antibody reaction. The 

 injected antigen gives rise to a specific antibody. This, on second 

 injection, unites with the first antigen and the result is anaphylactic 

 shock. Such a point of view was held from the beginning by v. 

 Pirquet, Rosenau and Anderson, and others, who reached this con- 

 clusion from the nature of the anaphylactic antigens, the specificity 

 of the reaction, the incubation time, and the phenomena of passive 

 sensitization. 



The conception of cell participation, however, has also been a 

 feature of a number of theories which have interpreted anaphylaxis 

 from the beginning as a true antigen-antibody reaction. When we 

 come to consider anaphylaxis-like phenomena we will have a few 

 words to say regarding the hypersusceptibility against bacterial tox- 

 ins which was noticed long before the days of anaphylaxis investiga- 

 tions by von Behring and his pupils. To explain this occurrence 

 Wassermann, Kretz, and others advanced the theory of "sessile re- 

 ceptors." 



In order to make the meaning of this term clear let us briefly 

 review Ehrlich's opinion regarding the formation of antibodies. 



13 Rosenau and Anderson. Loc. cit. and U. S. Pub. Health and M. H. 

 8. Hyg. Lab. Bull. 45, p. 22, 1908. 



