Abstract
A phenomenon of local reactivity to B. typhosus culture filtrate is described. The work was done on rabbits. The reactivity was induced by skin injections of the filtrate 24 hours prior to the intravenous injection of the same filtrate. The local reactions appeared at the site of previous skin injections; they were fully developed in 4 to 5 hours after the intravenous injection; they were extremely severe and microscopically showed very pronounced necrosis of tissue with rupture of blood vessels and extensive local hemorrhage. The reactions in different rabbits varied in size from 1×1 cm. to 4×4 cm.
The phenomenon was reproduced in several hundred rabbits. About 78% of animals tested showed locally severe hemorrhagic reactions. The remaining animals were spontaneously resistant to the phenomenon.
When several areas of the skin of the abdomen were prepared by skin injections the intravenous injection produced reactions in each prepared area. The reactions were uniformly severe. The only variation in the response of different areas of the skin of the same animal was in the size of the reactions. The average difference was from 1 to 2 cm.
The skin injections themselves produced an erythema. The intensity of the erythema varied in different animals and in various areas of the skin of the abdomen of the same animal. The intensity and size of local hemorrhagic reactions to the intravenous injections was not related to the intensity of the erythema produced by the preparatory skin injections. Very severe hemorrhagic reactions were also produced by intravenous injection in areas which reacted negatively to the preparatory skin injections.
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