ApRn. 24, 1908] 



SCIENCE 



643 



General discussion, in which many of the mem- 

 bers participated. 



ABSTKACTS OP IMMUNITY PAPERS 



A Review of Anaphylaxis, with Especial 



Reference to Immunity: By M. J. 



RosENAu and John F. Anderson. 



Anaphylaxis {ava against, and ^vX6g 

 guard or <poXdStg protection), also called the 

 Theobald Smith phenomenon, hypersuscep- 

 tibility, supersensitiveness, is a condition of 

 unusual or exaggerated susceptibility of 

 the organism to foreign substances. Ana- 

 phylaxis may be congenital or acquired ; it 

 is specific in nature. The condition of 

 anaphylaxis may be brought about by the 

 introduction of any strange protein into 

 the body. Hypersusceptibility to proteins 

 that are non-poisonous in themselves may 

 readily be induced in certain animals. 



An animal may be in a condition of 

 hypersusceptibility and immunity at the 

 same time. The two conditions are closely 

 interwoven. The one may be dependent 

 upon the other. Pirquet advises that the 

 term immunity be limited to indicate the 

 condition of complete resistance in which 

 no clinical reaction occurs, when poisons 

 [(such as diphtheria, tetanus, etc.) are in- 

 troduced into the organism. He suggests 

 the term "Allergie" to indicate conditions 

 of acquired immunity associated with 

 anaphylaxis, such as that induced by vac- 

 cinia against variola, that of the luetic 

 against syphilis, or of that produced by one 

 attack of some of the acute specific in- 

 fections. This condition of allergie mani- 

 fests itself in the renewal of the infection 

 in an entirely different maimer from the 

 reaction to the primary infection. 



The tuberculin and mallein reactions are 

 well-known instances of anaphylaxis. 

 These substances are not poisonous when 

 introduced into a healthy individual, but 

 the tuberculous individual is anaphylactic 

 to tuberculin and an individual suffering 



with glanders is in a state of hypersus* 

 ceptibility to malleia. 



The best studied instance of anaphylaxis 

 is that produced in the guinea-pig by the 

 injection of a foreign protein, for example, 

 horse serum, egg white, milk, etc. Especial 

 study has been made of the anaphylactic 

 reaction of the blood serum of the horse, 

 partly because that serum is so much used 

 in serum therapy. 



The first injection of horse serum into 

 the guinea-pig sensitizes it to a subsequent 

 injection of horse serum. A definite time 

 must elapse— about eight or ten days — be- 

 tween the first and the second injections. 

 A very minute quantity given at the first 

 injection is sufScient to sensitize a guinea- 



The reaction is specific in nature. 

 Guinea-pigs may be ia a condition of 

 anaphylaxis to three protein substances at 

 the same time. The guinea-pig differ- 

 entiates each anaphylactic-producing pro- 

 tein ia a distinct and separate maimer. 

 This adds weight to our belief that pro- 

 found chemical changes, perhaps in the 

 central nervous system, constitute the 

 essential features of the phenomenon 

 rather than morphological alternations. 



Hypersusceptibility to horse serum is 

 transmitted from the mother guinea-pig to 

 her young. 



There are certain analogies between the 

 action of tuberculosis (tuberculin) and 

 serum anaphylaxis. 



Guinea-pigs may be actively immunized 

 against anaphylaxis. The immunity, how- 

 ever, can not be transferred passively to 

 other animals in the blood serum or body 

 juices. 



HjrpersusceptibUity has an important 

 bearing upon the problems of immunity. 

 Anaphylactic symptoms may be produced 

 in guinea-pigs by the protein extracts ob- 

 tained from bacterial cells. In the case of 



