SERUM THERAPY 91 



According to Dr. Park, 10,000 units given in- 

 travenously are worth 100,000 units subcutane- 

 ously. Before using the antitoxin by the in- 

 travenous route, it should be very carefully 

 warmed to a temperature of about 98.6F. 

 that is, body temperature by placing it in a 

 water bath. Intravenous injections give the 

 most rapid results and should be used especially 

 in all malignant cases. Moreover, if only a 

 small amount of antitoxin is available when 

 treating any type of diphtheria, the antitoxin 

 should by all means be administered intraven- 

 ously. 



In case the physician does not care to use the 

 intravenous route, the antitoxin should be ad- 

 ministered intramuscularly, preferably in the 

 gluteal region. The gluteal muscles are abun- 

 dantly supplied with blood vessels and the anti- 

 toxin will be quite rapidly absorbed from that 

 region. When injected into the muscle, the anti- 

 toxin is absorbed about three times as rapidly 

 as when given subcutaneously, so that the major 

 portion is absorbed within twenty-four hours. 

 Morgenroth and Levy (Zeitsch. f. Hyg. u. In- 

 fect. Dis., 1912, LXX; 69) found that the high- 

 est antitoxic value naturally occurs after in- 



