94 LOCALIZED INFECTIONS OF PUS NATURE 



by almost all disinfectants in appropriate strength in 

 five minutes. 



Antimeningitis Serum. Meningitis cocci belong to 

 the bacteria which produce endotoxins. As anti- 

 bodies to this toxin, agglutinins and antibacterial 

 bodies or bacteriolysins are formed. The endocellular 

 poisons are the bodies responsible for the peculiar 

 effects of these cocci, and there have been many 

 experiments with the object of finding a serum which 

 will counteract the effect of this part of the organism. 

 Animals are not very susceptible to the meningitis 

 coccus, but at last it was found that the poison ex- 

 tracted from the bodies by letting them disintegrate in 

 water, would poison animals. Therefore, by starting 

 with minute non-poisonous doses and rising in quantity 

 and strength it was possible to procure a serum from 

 goats which was protective or neutralizing when mixed 

 with a dose of the poison sufficient alone to affect an 

 unprepared animal. This is immunizing actively to 

 procure a serum to be injected into another animal 

 (human being) to immunize it passively. The use of 

 such a serum has met with great success both here 

 and abroad, and the mortality of the disease has been 

 greatly reduced. 



DIPLOCOCCUS (STREPTOCOCCUS) PNEUMONIA 



Pneumonia or inflammation of the lungs may be 

 caused by a great many organisms, but by far the 

 commonest one is the Diplococcm or Streptococcus pneu- 

 monicB or pneumococcus. This omnipresent organism 

 gains entrance to the body almost exclusively by 



