»2 TOXINS AND ANTITOXINS. 



A dose of the filtered culture, which is fatal to 

 a guinea-pig, becomes innocuous when mixed with 

 0.5 Cc. of the serum of a vaccinated guinea-pig; 

 6 Cc. of the serum injected six hours after an 

 injection of the virulent culture, hence when this 

 is in full action, suffice to save the animal.* So 

 far as the human being is concerned, the results 

 obtained have not been sufficiently satisfactory. 



The culture bouillon of the Bacillus coli com- 

 munis, which is closely allied to Eberth's bacillus, 

 also contains soluble toxic substances which have 

 been named coli-bacillus toxin. This substance, 

 which is produced only in small quantity by the 

 microbe, is fatal only in very large doses. 



Cholera Toxin. — Very little is known regarding 

 the toxic products of the spirillium cholerae; 

 nevertheless, the fact that typical cholera exhibits 

 every symptom of the action of a toxic agent 

 demonstrates quite clearly the elaboration of some 

 toxic substance within the cultures of this microbe. 



Villiers f found in it a liquid ptomaine; KlebsJ 

 found another and crystallizable ptomaine; while 

 Pitai discovered in it a toxin unalterable by heat, 

 and which he considered as a toxopeptone. Accord- 

 ing to Gamaleia § there is present a true toxin, 



* Funck: La S^rotherapie de la FUvre Typhoide, i, Brussels, 

 1896. 



f Compt. rend, de I' Acad, des Sciences, Jan. 12, 1885. 

 JKlebs: Allgem. Wien. Med. Zeit., 1887. 

 i Arch, de MH. Exf^rim., iv, p. 173, 



