210 
Autogenous  Vaccines. 
(Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
\       May,  1914. 
required  in  the  manufacture  of  these  substances  varies  in  different 
diseases:  21  to  28  days,  as  a  rule,  in  typhoid  fever;  9  to  11  days, 
as  a  rule,  in  pneumonia,  etc.  So  we  have  two  biologic  methods  of 
treatment,  serum  and  vaccine  treatment,  and  the  principle  of  the 
former  is  to  supply  these  protective  substances  ready  made  (passive 
immunity)  and  in  vaccination  to  stimulate  the  tissues  to  produce 
them  more  quickly,  and,  inasmuch  as  diseased  tissues  are  more 
sluggish  in  locally  manufacturing  them,  to  utilize  or  exploit  healthy 
tissues  for  the  advantage  of  the  enfeebled  ones  (active  immunity). 
This,  then,  is  the  scientific  basis  for  the  action  of  vaccines.  And  now 
what  are  vaccines? 
Vaccines  are  emulsions  of  the  bodies  of  dead  bacteria  killed  in 
various  ways  and  suspended  in  suitable  dosage  in  solution  of  nor- 
mal saline. 
There  are  two  types  of  vaccines :  heterogenous  and  autogenous. 
Heterogenous  vaccines  are  prepared  from  infections  similar  to  the 
case  which  is  to  be  treated,  but  from  infected  material  not  derived 
from  the  patient  himself.  This  type  of  vaccine  may  be,  and  usually 
is,  polyvalent;  that  is,  cultures  are  obtained  from  several  infections 
of  the  same  nature  and  therefore  represent,  possibly,  several 
"  strains  "  of  the  same  organism.  These  heterogenous  vaccines  are 
commonly  called  "  stock  "  vaccines,  perhaps  because  they  are  pre- 
pared in  quantities  and  held  in  readiness  to  be  used  in  a  given  case 
on  demand.  i  • '        H  L    j  i 
:  !-''■    '  !     ;  Li!;  m  I  1 
Autogenous  vaccines  are  prepared  from  cultures  grown  from  in- 
fected material  obtained  from  the  patient  himself.  In  other  words, 
they  represent  and  are  specifically  the  organism  from  the  effects  of 
which  the  patient  is  suffering  and  toward  which  you  are  assisting 
the  patient  to  establish  an  immunity.  Knowing  these  differences, 
it  is  not  difficult  to  understand  that  biologists,  bacteriologists,  se- 
rologists,  and  clinicians  of  the  thinking  type  are  agreed  that  the 
autogenous  group  of  vaccines  fulfil  best  the  scientific  therapeutic 
requirements.  Let  me  quote  from  an  article  recently  published 
by  a  man  whose  authority  is  unquestioned :  "  With  the  exception 
of  certain  organisms,  such  as  tubercle  bacillus  and  the  gonococcus, 
there  is  little  reason  for  employing  stock  vaccines  instead  of  au- 
togenous, and  there  is  abundant  ground  for  believing  that  the  use 
of  stock  vaccines  will  not  only  lead  to  carelessness  of  diagnosis  and 
misinterpretation  of  the  probable  nature  of  the  infection  with  con- 
sequent administration  of  the  wrong  species,  but  will  sometimes 
be  directly  harmful. 
