BACTERIOLYSINS AND HsEMOLYSINS 91 



action of a complement fitting to a certain bacteri- 

 cidal immune body and not of one contained in the 

 same serum which fitted a certain haemolytic im- 

 mune body, etc. 



Fluctuations in the Amount of Complement and 

 other Active Substances in the Blood We have 

 come to know certain conditions under which there 

 may be a decrease of certain complements in 

 normal serum. Ehrlich and Morgenroth showed 

 that in rabbits poisoned with phosphorus and in 

 whom, therefore, the liver was badly damaged^ 

 the serum on the second day (the height of the 

 disease) had lost its power to dissolve guinea-pig 

 blood, and that this was due to a disappearance of 

 the complement. Metchnikoff also reported that in 

 an animal suffering from a continuing suppurating 

 process, the complement had fallen considerably in 

 amount. Especially interesting are the experi- 

 ments of v. Dungern, who showed that animal cells, 

 hence emulsions of fresh organs, are able to attract 

 and combine with complements. 



Even more important than the question of a 

 decrease in complements, or an inhibition of their 

 action, is that of the possibility to artificially in- 

 crease them. A number of authors, among them 

 Nolf and Miiller, have answered this question in the 

 affirmative. They believe they have noticed such 

 an increase following the injection of an animal with 



