IMMUNE SERA 



ANTITOXINS 



Historical. -- The researches of Buchner 1 in 1889 

 had shown that the serum of animals artificially 

 immunized against a certain bacterium possessed 

 marked bactericidal properties for that particular 

 organism. In studying immunity on animals which 

 had been successfully immunized against diphtheria 

 infection, Behring, 2 working in Koch's laboratory 

 was struck by the fact that in these animals 

 living virulent diphtheria bacilli were often demon- 

 strable in the scab at the site of injection several 

 weeks after the infection, and furthermore that the 

 blood serum of the animals did not possess bacteri- 

 cidal properties. In a study published in 1890 

 Behring showed that the serum of rabbits arti- 

 ficially immunized against diphtheria was able to 

 confer a specific immunity against diphtheria infec- 

 tions in other animals. He also demonstrated that 

 such a serum could be used therapeutically to cure 

 an infection already in progress. Such a serum 



1 Buchner, Centralblatt Bacteriologie, Vol. v. 1889. Archiv. 

 f. Hygiene, Vol. x. 1890. 



2 Behring & Kitasato, Deutsche med. Wochenschrift, No. 

 49, 1890. 



