Cause of Death Following Intravenous Injection of Ox and Dog Serum into Rabbits.

Abstract

Marked divergencies occur 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 concerning the mode of action of foreign sera in causing death after intravenous injection. We repeated and extended in various directions the investigations of Loeb and his collaborators, and of Kusama. Our results are as follows:

I. Injection of ox serum. When we injected a lethal dose of ox serum into the ear vein of a rabbit, we found in the lungs removed immediately after the death of the animal, very extensive occlusion of the capillaries as well as of the larger vessels by thrombi. In the capillaries these thrombi appear to consist of agglutinated red blood cells only; whereas in the larger vessels there was also an admixture of white blood cells and possibly of platelets; no fibrin could be made out anywhere. All the other organs examined microscopically showed merely congestion. The injection of a sub-lethal dose of ox serum caused only partial occlusion of the pulmonary vessels by such thrombi and the animal therefore survived. When heparin was injected in quantities sufficient to prevent coagulation of the blood together with a lethal dose of ox serum, it did not prolong the life or prevent the death of the animal. Also the microscopic picture of the various organs, remained the same as after injection of the ox serum alone.

II. Injection of dog serum. After injection of a lethal dose of dog serum, microscopic examination of the lungs also showed massive occlusion of the capillaries and larger vessels by thrombi. In the capillaries the thrombi appeared to consist of massed-together, pale red blood cells, without any fibrin being visible; in the larger vessels however, fibrin could be definitely seen in the thrombi. The finding of fibrin in the larger vessels as well as the action of heparin in combination with dog serum, to be referred to shortly, suggests very strongly however, that the thrombi formed in the capillaries also contained fibrin, which was however, too fine to be recognized microscopically.