Chapter XII

ARTIFICIAL IMMUNITY AGAINST TOXINS 342
Adaptation to poisons.—Artificial immunity against bacterial and
vegetable toxins and against snake venom.—Principal methods of
immunisation.—Immunisation by toxins and toxoids.—Inoculation
against diphtheria toxin.—Phenomena produced in the course of
vaccination against toxins.—Rise of
temperature.—Leucocytosis.—Development of antitoxic
power.—Properties of antitoxins.—Mode of action of
antitoxins.—Action of antitoxins _in vitro_.—Their action in the
organism.—Influence of living elements on the combination of
antitoxin with toxin.—Antitoxic action of non-specific serums,
of normal serums, and of broth.—Immunity against toxins is not
in direct ratio to the amount of antitoxins in the body
fluids.—Hypersensitiveness of an animal treated with
toxin.—Diminution of the susceptibility of the organism
immunised against toxins.
Hypotheses as to the nature and origin of antitoxins.—Hypothesis
of the transformation of toxins into antitoxins.—Hypothesis of
receptors detached from cells as the source of
antitoxins.—Hypothesis of the nervous origin of tetanus
antitoxin.—Fixation of tetanus toxin by the substance of the
nerve centres.—The relations between saponin and
cholesterin.—Anti-arsenic serum.—Part played by phagocytes in
the struggle of the animal against poisons.—Probable part played
by phagocytes in the production of antitoxins.