Serums, vaccines and toxines in treatment and diagnosis.

  • Bosanquet, W. Cecil (William Cecil), 1866-1941.
Date:
1904
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Serums, vaccines and toxines in treatment and diagnosis. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library at Yale University, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library at Yale University.

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    passive immunity. Tliis lasts only as long as the injected serum remains in the body ; and this is not, as a rule, for any long period of time, since the foreign serum is more or less rapidly excreted.1 The animal in this latter case has not gained for itself any power of forming protective substances ; whereas in active immunity its cells have been educated to perform this duty, and this acquirement seems to be retained either permanently or for a considerable period of time. It is found that, if an individual has gained this active immunity to one disease and then becomes infected with a second distinct malady, the former protec- tive power is often lost. We may repeat that it is the possession of antibacterial serum that constitutes true immunity. Injection of anti- toxic serum acts only indirectly in this sense. Modification of Phenomena of Bacteriolysis, &c, in the presence of living tissues.—It might seem from a consideration of the foregoing facts that the explanation of immunity was a fairly simple one—that defence against the invasion of any micro-organism depended on the existence in the blood of the individual of two special bodies, a ferment and an intermediary body capable of joining the ferment on to the bacterium. The absence of either of these would constitute susceptibility; their simultaneous presence would confer protection. But other ascertained facts render the question more complicated. Thus, taking the case of anthrax-bacilli, we find that the blood of the rabbit, a highly susceptible animal, acts destructively upon the organisms in a test-tube : within the body it manifestly does not do so. Similarly, all white rats possess serum which destroys anthrax-bacilli, but they are not all immune. On the other hand, the serum of animals immune to the dis- ease, as that of the hen, forms a good culture-medium for the bacillus. It thus b.-comes clear that we have to take 1 Tho antitoxins or copula injected may perhaps be neutralised by llie formation of an anti-antitoxins or anti-copula, and not merely pasud out of the body.