SPECIAL TOXICOLOGICAL TESTS 275 



latter. Giving the toxicity of loo parts of ethyl alcohol as loo, 

 then 47 parts by weight of isopropylic alcohol, 29 parts of 

 isobutyhc alcohol and 12.5 parts of amylic alcohol were found to 

 be isotoxic with that quantity of ethyl alcohol. 



The term toxin, more accurately speaking, apphes to poisonous 

 substances elaborated by bacteria and which require an incuba- 

 tion period before forming antibodies or antitoxins. The toxins 

 formed by the bacterial group appear to be intimately associated 

 with the Ufe processes of the living cell, but their chemical com- 

 position remains thus far unknown. We know that they are very 

 readily destroyed by heating (60° to 80° C.) and that they are 

 chemically very unstable, and that they are among the moot highly 

 poisonous agents known to science. They are far more t(yxic than 

 the potent vegetable alkaloids and animal toxalbumins, as is shown 

 in the following tabulation (Jordan): 



Atropine, fatal dose to man 130 mg. 



Strychnine, fatal dose to man 30-40 mg. 



Cobra venom, fatal dose to man 4 -375 mg. 



Tetanus toxin, fatal dose to man o. 23 mg. 



Various animals produce toxalbumins or toxins, as snakes 

 (crotalin, viperine), scorpions, tarantulas, the Gila monster and 

 other lizards. Rattle-snake venom evidently possesses a variety 

 of properties. It will agglutinate blood, neutrahze the fibrinogen, 

 hemolyze red corpuscles, and is highly neurotoxic. Within recent 

 years antibodies have been produced against these several toxic 

 substances. 



Muscarine, the toxic agent of Amanita muscaria (fly agaric), is 

 an alkaloid which acts very quickly, whereas the toxic agents of 

 Amanita phalloides and A. verna are toxin-like in that there is an 

 incubation period of from 10 to 14 hr. before the toxic symptoms 

 begin to manifest themselves. They are strongly hemolytic. It 

 is supposed that the pollen grains of certain flowers contain toxin- 

 like substances to which certain persons are peculiarly suscepti- 

 ble. All toxalbumins or toxins, whether derived from bacteria, 

 19 



