[369] CHAPTER XII 



ARTIFICIAL IMMUNITY AGAINST TOXINS 



Adaptation to poisons. — Artificial immunity against bacterial and vegetable toxins 

 and against snake venom. — Principal methods of immunisation. — Immunisation 

 by toxins and toxoids. — Inoculation against diphtheria toxin. — Phenomena 

 produced in the course of vaccination against toxins. — Rise of temperature. — 

 Leucocytosis. — Development of antitoxic power. — Properties of antitoxins. — 

 Mode of action of antitoxins. — ^Action of antitoxins in vitro. — Their action in 

 the organism. — Influence of living elements on the combination of antitoxin 

 with toxin. — Antitoxic action of non-specific serums, of normal serums and of 

 broth. — Immunity against toxins is not in direct ratio to the amount of anti- 

 toxins in the body fluids. — Hypersensitiveness of an animal treated with toxin. — 

 Diminution of the susceptibility of the organism immunised against toxins. 



Hypotheses as to the nature and origin of antitoxins. — Hypothesis of the transforma- 

 tion of toxins into antitoxins. — Hypothesis of receptors detached from cells as 

 the source of antitoxins. — Hypothesis of the nervous origin of tetanus antitoxin. 

 — Fixation of tetanus toxin by the substance of the nerve centres. — The relations 

 between saponin and cholesterin. — Anti-arsenic serum. — Part played by phago- 

 cytes in the struggle of the animal against poisons. — Probable part j)layed by 

 phagocytes in the production of antitoxins. 



Although scientific men succeeded only a little more than ten 

 years ago in vaccinating against poisons by artificial methods, savage 

 races and ancient peoples at a very remote period undoubtedly pos- 

 sessed methods of counteracting the efiects of certain venomous 

 substances. The frequent observation of cases in which doses of 

 poisons, insufficient to cause death, brought about a more or less 

 durable resistant condition, must result in the elaboration of artificial 

 means of preventing the intoxications. 



Yon Behring^ points out that analogous facts must have been 

 known to the physicians of ancient times ; and it is in such know- 

 ledge that we must look for the source of the dogma put forward 

 by Hippocrates, that the factor which produces a disease is also 

 capable of curing it. 



^ " AUgemeine Therapie der Infectionskrankheiten," Berlin u. Wien, 1899, S. 982. 



