PART 9.— THE RELATION OF ANAPHYLAXIS TO THE TOXEMIAS OF 
PREGNANCY. 
The symptoms which cause puerperal eclampsia and the condi- 
tions under which it occurs suggest that anaphylaxis may explain 
some of the mystery of this state. 
It occurred to us that either the blood or proteid substances in solu- 
tion from the fetus or the placenta may first sensitize the mother. A 
subsequent introduction into the system of the mother of a similar 
substance may explain the convulsions and the symptoms which 
occur in a certain class of the toxemias of pregnancy. 
Through the establishment of the pathological anatomy 'of the 
condition a general agreement has been reached that puerperal 
eclampsia must be included among the diseases caused by toxic 
materials of unknown origin and nature.”^ A certain class of the 
toxemias of pregnancy are sometimes spoken of as reflex or neurotic 
origin. 
There seems to be a fair agreement that the placenta must be the 
source of toxic material, especially as typical cases of eclampsia and per- 
nicious vomiting have been observed in patients with hydatid mole, in 
which cases, of course, toxic matter of fetal origin could be eliminated. 
Furthermore, eclampsia may appear after the fetus has been removed. 
Much attention was therefore given to the hypothesis elaborated 
about four years ago by Veit, Weichardt, and others that through 
the entrance of placental cells into the circulation of the mother an 
intoxication was caused either by disintegration of the cells and the 
formation of toxic substances or in the development of antisubstances 
by the maternal organism. 
In spite of much experimentation and discussion, however, no satis- 
factory conclusions have yet been reached concerning the validity 
of this hypothesis, and Martin has secured some very valuable evi- 
dence that at least in rabbits entrance of their own placental elements 
into the circulation in large amounts does not cause any serious dis- 
turbance. So far as we are aware, we are the first to suggest that cer- 
tain of the toxemias of pregnancy may be a condition of hypersus- 
ceptibility. 
Along these lines we first made a number of experiments to deter- 
mine whether the fetal blood of the guinea pig could sensitize the 
mother guinea pig. We injected a number of female guinea pigs, 
both pregnant and not pregnant, with fetal blood, and after an appro- 
priate interval gave them a second injection of the same material. 
« From a recent discussion of the theories concerning the causes of the toxemias of 
pregnancy. Editorial in the .Tournal of the American Medical Association, vol. 50, 
No. 2, Jan. 11, 1908, p. 124. 
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