90 BACTERIAL POISONS OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES. 



treated in the same way the filtrate is found to be toxic. This shows 

 that the toxin is contained within the cell and becomes active only 

 after the disintegration of the organism. As is true of many other 

 bacteria, different cultures vary markedly in their toxicity. Wasser- 

 mann obtained some preparations, 0.1 c.e. of which was sufficient to 

 kill mice, while one c.c. of other sterilized cultures was necessary in 

 order to accomplish the same result. Gonotoxin is a fairly stable 

 body ; it can be precipitated with absolute alcohol and can be heated 

 to 100° without marked loss of toxicity. While none of the lower 

 animals are susceptible to infection with this microorganism, rabbits, 

 mice and guinea-pigs are readily affected by the toxin. The sub- 

 cutaneous injection of two c.c. of a sterilized culture of a virulent 

 form of gonococcus causes an infiltration which subsequently passes 

 into a necrosis. Treatment with 10 c.c. causes marked local inflam- 

 mation, the animal loses its appetite, wastes away and dies of chronic 

 marasmus. The pyogenic action of this toxin can easily be demon- 

 strated by the injection of a small quantity into the anterior chamber 

 of the eye of a rabbit. Corneal cloudiness, hypopyon and sometimes 

 complete loss of the eye result. Wassermann injected 0.1 c.c. sub- 

 cutaneously into his own arm. After about four hours the place of 

 injection became painful, there were light chills, and in the evening 

 the temperature reached 38°. During the night there was headache 

 and pain in the joints. The next day the area around the point of 

 injection was swollen and painful, but all symptoms disappeared 

 after two days. The same investigator has tried this agent in the 

 treatment of obstinate cases of chronic gonorrhea, but has found that 

 the toxin has no curative effect and only intensifies the symptoms. 

 Both he and Christmas have attempted to produce an antitoxin for this 

 poison, but without any marked success. It is true that Christmas 

 has reported the preparation of an active serum by immunizing goats, 

 but the action of this antitoxin was very slight and Wassermann's 

 results were wholly negative. Small quantities of gonotoxin intro- 

 duced into a sound urethra cause after a few days marked suppura- 

 tion, while control experiments with the toxins of other cocci were 

 without effect. The action of gonotoxin explains the clinical course 

 of many cases of gonorrhea. When the infection is confined to the 

 anterior part of the urethra the germ soon dies and the toxin is 

 thoroughly washed out with each discharge of urine ; but when the 

 infection is in the posterior urethra some of the germs find their 

 way into the crypts of this region and pass through many genera- 

 tions, elaborating their toxin and causing the continued formation of 

 pus. This also explains why this disease is so much more serious in 

 the female than in the male. 



The Summer Diarrhoeas of Infancy. — In 1888, Yaughan stated 

 that the microorganisms which produce the catarrhal or mucous diar- 



