156 IMMUNE SERA 



stances these substances are broken up within the 

 leucocytes and the poisons . thus set free at once 

 neutralized by neutralizing bodies present within 

 the cells. According to this, conception the leu- 

 cocytes exercise a double function, one bactericidal 

 and bacteriolytic, the other a poison-neutralizing 

 one. The bactericidal and bacteriolytic bodies 

 appear to escape from the leucocytes quite readily, 

 and can be demonstrated in the blood plasma; the 

 neutralizing bodies, on the other hand, do not appear 

 to be given off from the cell. It is obvious, there- 

 fore, that the bacterial substances may be broken 

 up in the blood plasma, and from them may thus 

 be liberated a poisonous body. When this poison- 

 ous body is assimilated in sufficient quantity by the 

 higher cells of the animal organism, death ensues, 

 and ensues the more quickly the more rapid the 

 process of liberation. 



In discussing allergy it was pointed out that the 

 phenomena of anaphylaxis should also be applied to 

 bacterial infections, because in these the body was 

 treated with small doses of bacterial proteid. As a 

 result of his studies, Friedberger concludes that it is 

 unnecessary to assume the existence of specific endo- 

 toxins in bacteria to account for the various symp- 

 toms seen in bacterial infections. By repeatedly 

 injecting sensitized animals with minute doses of 

 sheep or horse serum, he found it possible to produce 

 all manner of fever curves at will, merely by varying 



