32 MODERN BIOLOGIC THERAPEUSIS 



animal body. The same was shown by Knud 

 Faber (1890) to be true of the tetanus bacillus. 



We owe to von Behring the discovery that an- 

 titoxic immunity can be transferred from one 

 animal to another by injection of blood-serum 

 from the immunized animal. In 1890 he suc- 

 ceeded in immunizing animals against the teta- 

 nus and diphtheria toxins, and in protecting 

 other animals from the fatal results of infection 

 by injecting them with the serum of immunized 

 animals. In 1893 von Behring first introduced 

 his antitoxin for use in human diphtheria. The 

 wonderful results which he obtained have led 

 to innumerable attempts to apply the same prin- 

 ciple to the treatment of other conditions ; and 

 Calmette, in 1894, developed an antitoxin for 

 snake venom which is fairly effective, while teta- 

 nus antitoxin is invaluable in the prophylaxis 

 and treatment of tetanus. 



Antibacterial sera have been placed on a 

 basis of approved value by the scientific work 

 of Flexner, who perfected Antimeningococcus 

 Serum (1906) and its rational method of ad- 

 ministration by the intraspinal route thus 

 placing antibodies in direct contact with the in- 

 fecting bacteria. 



