Erythrocyte Anaphylaxis in Dogs.

Abstract

Dogs injected intraperitoneally with 0.5 cc. 50 per cent horse erythrocyte suspension per kilogram of body weight followed 24 hours later by an intravenous injection with the same dose, are almost invariably hypersensitive if tested after an incubation period of about 20 days. The shock thus produced, however, differs materially from the shock in canine serum anaphylaxis.

In serum anaphylaxis, the characteristic precipitous fall in arterial blood pressure and the characteristic contraction of the urinary bladder do not begin till at least 45 to 60 seconds after commencing the intravenous protein injection. This is the time necessary for the formation or liberation of histamine-like depressor substances by the hypersensitive liver and their transmission to other parts of the body. In erythrocyte anaphylaxis (Fig. 1) both reactions begin within 15 to 20 seconds after commencing the intravenous corpuscle injection, the same time relations as those observed on intravenous injection with histamine.

It is evident, therefore, that the characteristic reactions in erythrocyte anaphylaxis do not depend upon hepatic function, but are presumably due to immediate humoral or vaso-motor reactions.

The above tracing represents the maximum reaction we have thus far obtained in canine erythrocyte anaphylaxis, corresponding roughly with the transcent clinical symptoms reported by Kritschewsky and Friede. 1