104 GERMICIDAL PROPERTIES OF BLOOD SERUM. 



with water and when it is diluted with salt solution ; in the former 

 instance the germicidal action being destroyed, while in the latter it 

 is not. 



6. The inorganic salts have in and of themselves no germicidal 

 action. They are active only in so far as they affect the normal 

 properties of the albuminates of the serum. The germicidal prop- 

 erties of the serum reside in its albumin constituents. 



7. The difference in the effects of active serum and that which has 

 been heated to 55° is due to the altered condition of the albuminate. 

 The difference may possibly be a chemical one (due to changes 

 within the molecule) or it may be due to alterations in mycelial 

 structure. The albuminous bodies act upon the bacteria only when 

 the former are in an active state. 



In the third edition of this book we pointed out an inconsistency 

 between Buchner's experimental results and his conclusions. Ex- 

 perimentally he ascertained that peptic digestion of blood serum does 

 not destroy its germicidal properties, and yet he concluded that the 

 active principle is serum albumin. Since serum albumin is destroyed 

 by peptic digestion, it cannot be the active germicidal agent in the 

 serum. 



Prudden found that ascitic and hydrocele fluids restrain the de- 

 velopment of certain germs. Rovighi reported that the germicidal 

 action of the blood is increased in febrile conditions. Pekelharing 

 enclosed anthrax spores in bits of parchment and introduced them 

 under the skin of rabbits. Thus treated, the spores soon lost their 

 virulence and finally their capability of growth. The destruction of 

 these spores could not have been due to phagocytes, which did not 

 penetrate the parchment, but must have been caused by soluble germ- 

 icides. Behring and Nissen found that the serum of the white rat 

 and of the rabbit destroys anthrax bacilli, while serum obtained from 

 the mouse, sheep, guinea-pig, chicken, pigeon, and frog, has no such 

 effect. It will be observed from this that there is no constant rela- 

 tion between the germicidal action of the blood of animals of differ- 

 ent species and their susceptibility to the disease caused by the germ ; 

 thus, the rabbit is highly susceptible to anthrax, notwithstanding the 

 fact that its blood destroys large numbers of these germs ; while the 

 chicken is immune to anthrax from the moment when it comes from 

 the shell and yet the bacillus anthracis grows luxuriantly in the 

 extra-vascular blood of the chick. This demonstrates that there is a 

 great difference between the action of extra-vascular blood and that 

 existing in the body, constantly fed, and, in case of need, altered in 

 composition by certain glands. 



Halliburton prepared from the lymphatic glands a globulin which 

 he designated cell-globulin-/?, and which agrees with fibrin ferment 

 in inducing coagulation in plasma. Hankin tested the germicidal 

 properties of this globulin, conducting his experiments in the follow- 



