570 BACTERIOLOGY. 



atom-groups results, according to the view of Weigert, 

 in disturbance of the cell-equilibrium and consequent 

 effort on the part of the surrounding atom-groups at 

 compensatory repair. With this liberation of bioplastic 

 energy there is more plastic material generated than is 

 necessary for the repair of the injury. The excess of 

 this material finds its way into the blood and, as we 

 shall see presently, is regarded by Ehrlich as the real 

 antitoxic substance. Assuming a specific combining 

 relation between toxic substances and particular cells or 

 secondary atom-groups of cells and there are experi- 

 mental grounds for this assumption 1 it is evident that 

 the combination between the intoxicant and the partic- 

 ular atom-group for which it has a specific affinity is 

 indirectly the cause of compensatory bioplastic activity 

 on the part of similar surrounding atom-groups that 

 have not been destroyed. This results, as we learned 

 above, in hypercompensation, the excess of plastic 

 material being disengaged from the parent-cell and 

 thrown free into the circulating fluids, there to combine 

 directly with the same intoxicant should it subsequently 

 gain access to the animal. This excess of plastic 

 material thrown into the circulation combines, accord- 

 ing to Ehrlich, 2 directly with the intoxicant to form 

 physiologically inactive toxin antitoxin compounds, 

 and can therefore be reasonably regarded as the antitoxic 



iSee Wassermann und Takaki: " Ueber tetanus antitoxische Eigen- 

 schaften des normalen Centralnervensystems," Berliner klin. Woch- 

 enschrift, 1898, No, 1. S. 5. Neisser und Wechsberg: Zeitschrift fur 

 Hygiene und Infektionskrankheiten, Bd. xxxvi. S. 299. Madsen: 

 Ibid., Bd. xxxii. 8. 214. 



2 Ehrlich : " Zur Kenntniss der Antitoxinwirkung," Forschritte der 

 Medicin, 1897, Bd. xv. No. 2. 



