THE BACILLUS OF TETANUS. 521 



The studies of Madsen ' demonstrate it to consist of 

 two physiologically distinct intoxicating compounds: 

 the one, a solvent of erythrocytes — a " tetanolysin " ; 

 the other, a specific irritant which, through its influence 

 upon the central nervous system,^ accounts for the phe- 

 nomena by which tetanus is characterized ; to this latter 

 the designation " tetanospasmin " is given. Madsen's 

 observations, furthermore, confirm the deductions of 

 Ehrlich concerning the molecular structure of bacterial 

 toxins in general, to the effect that the molecule of tet- 

 anolysin, like that of diphtheria toxin, is a complex of 

 at least two physiologically unlike groups; the one, 

 characterized by its marked combining tendencies (for 

 antitoxin), the so-called haptophore group; the other, 

 distinguished for its intoxicatmg quality, the so-called 

 toxophore group. 



The principles involved in the induction of the anti- 

 toxic state against diphtheria are likewise applicable to 

 tetanus ; in fact, the fundamental observations upon the 

 generation of antitoxin in the living animal body were 

 made in the course of studies on tetanus ; they were 

 subsequently applied to the ctudy of diphtheria, with 

 the results already noted. It is needless to enter here 

 upon the details essential to the production of tetanus 

 antitoxin ; to all intents aud purposes, they are identical 

 with those given in the section on diphtheria. Briefly 

 stated, animals may be rendered immune from tetanus 

 by the repeated injection of gradually increasing non- 

 fatal doses of tetanus toxin ; when immunity is estab- 



' Madsen : " Ueber TeanolysiD," Zeitsclirift fiir Hygiene und Infelc- 

 tionskranklieiten, 1899, Bd. xxxii. S. 214. 



^See paper by Wassermann and Takaki : Berliner klinische WocU- 

 enschrift, 1898, No. 1, S. 5. 



