UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PUBLICATIONS 

 In 



ZOOLOGY 



Vol. 20, No. 22, pp. 477-488, plate 42 December 31, 1923 



A SKIN REACTION TO EXTRACTS OF LEISHMANIA 

 TROPICA AND LEISHMANIA INFANTUM 



BT 



EDNA HANNIBAL WAGENEB 



INTRODUCTION 



The cutaneous reaction ha.s been so largely and .successfully used 

 in demonstrating hypersensitiveness to protein derivatives of both 

 fungi and bacteria that it seemed possible that a similar reaction 

 might be obtained with protein derivatives of protozoans. Some work 

 has been done in this field of investigation, but thus far no conclusive 

 results have been published. (See discussion at close of this paper.) 



The selection of a favorable protozoan for experimentation offered 

 several difficulties as apparently none of the intestinal forms has 

 been grown in pure culture. Finally, however, Leishmania was found 

 to fulfil the requirement; also to grow readily in quantity sufficient 

 for the essential experimental tests with derived proteins. 



ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 



Tliis investigation has been carried on under the direction of 

 Professors J. N. Force and Charles A. Kofoid, to whom thanks are 

 due for kindly suggestions and criticism. Acknowledgments are also 

 made to Professor F. E. Novy, of the University of Michigan, for 

 cultures of Leishmania tropica, to Professor E. E. Tyzzer, of Harvard 

 Universit}^ for cultures of Leishmania infantum, to Professor T. D. 

 Beckwith for valuable suggestions during the course of the work, 

 and to Dr. Olive Swezy, for the excellent illustrations accompanying 

 the paper. 



