Physical State of Antigen. 



83 



pure lipoid (acetone insoluble fraction of tissue lipoids) properly 

 prepared is, in our experience, by far superior to any watery or 

 alcoholic extracts, as well as to those reinforced by cholesterin. 1 

 We found, however, that in order to obtain constant results it is 

 not sufficient to merely ascertain the chemical composition of 

 antigen, but its physical state as well. By changing the method 

 of emulsifying the alcoholic solution of acetone insoluble tissue 

 lipoids in salt solution, we obtained emulsions which were essen- 

 tially different from one another. In general, the emulsions can 

 be divided into two groups: those opaque and those only slightly 

 opalescent and fluorescent. The two types are essentially differ- 

 ent; thus no amount of dilution of the opaque emulsions will give 

 them the fluorescent appearance characteristic for the second 

 group of emulsions even though the degree of opalescence can be 

 approached. 



We found that the results of Wassermann tests performed on 

 the same sera with these two emulsions give different results, and 

 in general the opaque emulsions are more anticomplementary 

 and the fluorescent are more antigenic. The opaque emulsions 

 of antigen give the results comparable to those obtained with 

 cholesterinized alcoholic extracts, namely, one obtains more posi- 

 tive reactions in treated cases as well as in a certain percentage of 

 normal cases and misses a number of reactions in early stages of 

 syphilis, whereas the fluorescent-opalescent emulsions, though 

 missing a certain number of treated cases, are very much more 

 sensitive and specific at the same time. 



53 (1231) 



The influence of subcutaneous injections of morphine upon the 

 hydrogen ion concentration of the urine in the dog and rabbit. 



By Frank P. Underhill, Norman L. Blatherwick and 

 Samuel Goldschmidt. 



[From the Sheffield Laboratory of Physiological Chemistry, Yale 

 University, New Haven.] 



The subcutaneous administration of morphine (morphine sul- 

 phate, 10 mg. per kilo body weight) to fasting dogs results in the 



1 We are reporting elsewhere a comparative study with different antigens on 

 over 20,000 cases. 



