150 MODERN BIOLOGIC THERAPEUSIS 

 ACTION OF NORMAL SERUM 



The sole object of serum therapy in hemor- 

 rhagic diseases is to supply the blood with those 

 properties that are lacking to cause coagula- 

 tion. Normal Horse Serum increases the coag- 

 ulability of the blood and, when applied locally, 

 exercises a hemostatic action in controlling ex- 

 ternal hemorrhage. When injected intraven- 

 ously, the greatest efficiency of the serum is at- 

 tained within a few minutes after its injection ; 

 while after its subcutaneous administration, the 

 maximum action of the serum probably does not 

 occur until 12 to 36 hours after its injection. 



Although Morawitz and others have shown 

 that on standing a few days, thrombin is con- 

 verted into an inactive form metathrombin ; 

 nevertheless, laboratory and clinical experi- 

 ments have demonstrated that the hemostatic 

 power of Normal Horse Serum that has been 

 kept for two years is still active. Clinical evi- 

 dence (Thiesen, The Journal A. M. A., July 18, 

 1914, and Thiesen and Fromm, New York Medi- 

 cal Journal, Oct. 31, 1914) shows that the injec- 

 tion of Normal Horse Serum in hemophilic pa- 

 tients is followed by increased coagulability of 

 the blood. 



