SERUM THERAPY 113 



exert no effect upon the bacteria themselves. 

 Antibacterial sera act directly upon the invad- 

 ing bacteria and render them inert or aid in de- 

 stroying them. (2) Antitoxic sera are used in 

 two diseases only, namely, diphtheria and te- 

 tanus; while the antibacterial sera are used in 

 a variety of infective conditions, namely, pneu- 

 monia, scarlet fever, erysipelas, septicemia, 

 puerperal sepsis, meningitis and gonorrhea. (3) 

 The antitoxic sera are used both for prophy- 

 laxis and treatment, while antibacterial sera are 

 usually used only in treatment. 



ANTIPNEUMOCOCCUS SERUM 

 PNEUMONIA 



Historic Acute lobar pneumonia, because of 

 its striking and characteristic clinical picture, 

 has been recognized since the earliest times and 

 lias always been an uncertain and treacherous 

 disease at any age. Evidently, what we now 

 know as croupous pneumonia was known to the 

 earliest medical writers including Hippocrates, 

 who with others described it with considerable 

 accuracy as peri-pneumonia. Hippocrates said 

 of it that it was "a disease quickly fatal and 

 characterized by sputa of various colors." The 



