Development of Immune Reactions. ioi 



practically always infected superficially, may be partially sterilized 

 with little injury to the tissue by rinsing the surface quickly with 

 weak alcohol (60 per cent.). In a large number of preparations 

 from a piece of skin treated in this way, a fair percentage will 

 show no bacterial contamination, and some of the remainder will 

 show only occasional colonies. We have obtained a good growth 

 of epithelium from pieces of circumcision tissue thus treated. 



A large number of antiseptics and disinfectants — toluol, chlo- 

 retone, tricresol, phenol, silver nitrate, hypochlorites (Dakin's 

 solution), argyrol, iodine, potassium cyanide, and bichloride 

 of mercury, have been tested on tissues more diffusely infected. 

 For nearly all of these the strength of solution necessary to kill 

 bacteria (staphylococcus aureus) also injures the cells. 



Experiments carried out so far, however, indicate that potas- 

 sium cyanide and probably also bichloride of mercury are ex- 

 ceptions to this rule. For example, potassium cyanide in 1-2,000 

 dilution is a very good disinfectant but injures cells very slightly. 

 More complete reports of these experiments will be presented in 

 a subsequent communication. 



57 ("21) 



Development of immune reactions in serum disease. 



By W. T. Longcope and F. M. Rackemann. 



[From the Medical Clinic of the Presbyterian Hospital, Columbia 

 University, New York.] 



The occurrence of immune reactions to horse serum and their 

 relationship to the development of serum disease in man, we have 

 studied by two methods: first, the sensitiveness of the skin to 

 intravenous injections of 0.02 c.c. of horse serum, undiluted or 

 diluted ten times or one hundred times with 0.85 per cent. NaCl ; 

 and secondly, by determining the presence of anaphylactic anti- 

 body in the blood serum of the patient by transference to guinea- 

 pigs through passive sensitization. 



Eleven patients have been studied, who have received for 

 therapeutic purposes from 4 c.c. to 350 c.c. of horse serum, in the 



