the poison, although Fermi 'and Pernossi had found it to be very 
pronounced. Nencki and Schoumow-Simanowski ® assert that the 
digestive fluids render it completely innocuous, notably the bile in 
conjunction with the fluid from a pancreatic fistula, while trypsin 
alone has less effect, being less injurious than pepsin. Yincenzi, ^ on 
the other hand, states that normal bile has hardly any destructive 
influence, but that the bile of animals infected with tetanus has a 
slight effect under certain conditions; thus, for example, death inev- 
itably follows in three to four days when the bile is active. On the 
other hand, the poison is somewhat weakened by the oxydase of the 
leucocytes, and, according to Sieber,^ is completely destroyed by 
the oxydase of the spleen.*^ 
We have fed guinea pigs as much as 24,000 and mice 18,000 
times the M. L. D. of tetanus toxine (if injected subcutaneously) 
without producing any apparent ill effects. 
Up to the present time all attempts to isolate the specific toxine 
as a definite chemical compoimd have proved unavailmg; we are 
totally ignorant of its chemical nature. Animal experiments are 
the only real agents by which it may be recognized. By this means 
we are enabled to determine not only the presence of the poison, 
but also to estimate its concentration in a solution and to follow its 
changes. 
Before the tetanus bacillus was obtained in pure culture the 
chemical nature of the toxine was studied by Brieger from mixed 
cultures in meat broth obtained from Xicolaier and Rosenbach. In 
1886 Brieger^ isolated from such a contaminated growth a basic 
substance or ptomaine which he called tetanine (C^gHgoXjOj , and 
which caused muscular contractions when injected into mice. 
Shortly afterward Brieger-^ obtained another ptomaine which he 
named tetano-toxine (CgH^^X). He believed these to be the true 
poison of tetanus. These are now only of historical interest. 
“Nencki and Schumow-Simanowski: “Ueber die Entgiftung der Toxin durch die 
Verdauungssafte.” Centralb. f. Bakt., xxiv, 84, cf. Dzierzgowski and Sieber, Archiv 
des Siences Biol, de St. Petersb., viii. 
Yincenzi: “Beber antitoxische Eigenscliaften der Galle tetanisierter Tiere. ” 
Deutsch. med. AYoch., 1898, 534. 
c Sieber: “Ueber d. Entgiftung der Toxin durch die Superoxyde, etc.” Z. f. 
phys. Ch., xxxii, 573, 1901. 
^^Toxines and Antitoxines; Oppenheimer, Carl, trans. by C. Ainsworth Mitchell. 
Charles Griflin & Co., Ltd., London, 1906, p. 110. 
« Brieger, L.: Ueber ein neues Ki’ampfe verursachendes Ptomain. Berichte d. 
dent. chem. Gesellsch., vol. 19, Dec. 9, 1886, p. 3119. 
/Brieger, L.: Zur Kenntniss der Aetiologie des Yhindstarrkrampfes, nebst Bemer- 
kungen iiber das Choleraroth. Deut. med. Woch., vol. 13, 1887, p. 303. 
: Ptomaine. 3 bd., 1886, p. 89. 
: Ueber ein neues Krampfe verursachendes Ptomain. Berichte d. deut. 
chem. Gesellsch., vol. 19. 1886, p.-3119. 
