ANAPHYLAXIS 241 



probably common to many toxins, but in serum anaphylaxis 

 the same characteristics do not necessarily exist. 



Anaphylaxis to poisons thus means a hastening of the 

 reaction of the body towards microbial toxins : it is a process 

 adapted for rapid defence and in particular for defence against 

 small doses : it is a sort of alarm signal sent to the body-cells 

 calling its attention to minute quantities of poison which 

 without this would have been insufficient to induce immunity : 

 immunity is established thanks to the preceding anaphylaxis. 

 Perhaps anaphylaxis is equivalent to Ehrlich's superexcitation 

 of the cells required for the production of antitoxins. 



Serum Anaphylaxis. A preparatory injection of serum 

 in very small dose (1/250 to 1/1,000,000 c.c.), a period of 

 incubation, a test injection larger than the first and producing 

 violent symptoms, these are the conditions of serum 

 anaphylaxis in the guinea-pig. 



On observing the symptoms it is impossible to avoid the 

 idea that the guinea-pig has fallen victim to some cerebral 

 lesion which was latent during the period of incubation but 

 has been revived by the test injection. The symptoms of 

 this lesion ought to be still more definite if the injection 

 were made into the brain itself. The nerve-centres can be 

 more directly attacked by intracerebral or intradural in- 

 jections or through the circulation by the intravenous route 

 (Besredka). 



One quarter of a c.c. injected intracerebrally produces the 

 same phenomena as 5 c.c. intraperitoneally and produces them 

 with much greater regularity, for instead of about 25 per cent., 

 practically all the guinea-pigs die. The experiments are thus 

 on a surer footing. Should the still unknown reaction take 

 place in the brain cell itself, i.e. t the reaction between the 

 poison and the antibody manufactured by the body as a 

 result of the first injection, one might hope to modify the 

 anaphylactic phenomena by acting on the nerve-cells of the 

 supersensitive animal. And this is really the case, as is shown 

 by a very pretty experiment of Roux and Besredka. The 

 sensitive guinea-pig is put to sleep with ether or put under the 



m. 



