PREFACE xi 



therapeutic use. On the other hand I have endeavored to present the 

 possible theoretical basis and some of the collateral fields of ap- 

 plication as fully as our present knowledge will permit. A great num- 

 ber of problems and questions of decided practical importance could 

 unfortunately be merely mentioned without further discussion. 



In the presentation of the clinical results so far reported I have 

 endeavored to maintain an attitude of caution. If at times I have 

 erred from pure objectivity I must accept the blame in perhaps pre- 

 senting the clinical reports of a number of observers whose enthusiasm 

 has perchance outweighed their judgment. We must remember that 

 it was the clinic that directed the attention to this form of therapy. 



During the short space of seven years nonspecific therapy has 

 gained a firm foothold in clinical thought and practice; to-day it is 

 recognized even by immunologists as one of the factors in resistance 

 to disease. Whether, as Much surmises, nonspecific resistance and 

 nonspecific immunity are of greater importance to the organism than 

 are the specific forces should not for the time being concern us; our 

 interest should be centered on applicability, methods and causes. Only 

 when the vast field has been partially explored will it be permissible 

 to judge the ultimate importance. 



While I have retained the name Protein Therapy, it should be 

 recognized that Protein Therapy deals merely with one of a large 

 group of agents which can be used to elicit the nonspecific reaction. 

 Other terms have been applied "Colloid Therapy"; "Shock Therapy"; 

 "Foreign Protein Therapy"; "Heterovaccine Therapy," but inasmuch 

 as it is the reaction of the patient that is of importance, not the sub- 

 stance that causes the reaction, a name much broader in its signifi- 

 cance should be used. "Ergotropie," the term coined by v. Groer, is 

 possibly correct and most expressive in that it emphasizes the re- 

 action of the patient and properly ignores the substance that causes 

 the reaction. 



How far-reaching the field of nonspecific stimulation is in its vari- 

 ous modifications becomes apparent from a consideration of the num- 

 ber and the character of the agents which have been employed to 

 bring about therapeutic results. Even the purely physical and me- 

 chanical means including irradiation, electricity, baths, massage, etc. 

 must be included in the survey because in some measure they bring 

 about changes in the organism similar in character to those that we 

 shall discuss in the following pages. 



To Dr. Otto L. Schmidt, who very kindly read the manuscript and 

 made a number of suggestions, and to Dr. Joseph L. Miller, whose in- 

 terested cooperation I have at all times enjoyed, I am under grateful 

 obligation. To Miss Josephine Bates of New York I am indebted for 

 her careful revision of the bibliography. 



W. F. P. 



