Abstract
It has been stated that the local inflammatory reaction in hypersensitive animals, at the site of antigen injection, has no morphological characteristics and especially that there are no morphological differences between the local reaction due to anaphylaxis and to tuberculin sensitiveness. 1 We noticed, however, that slight reactions, especially during the first hours after the injection of antigen, show marked morphological differences in the 2 types of hypersensitiveness. It is reasonable to expect that under the conditions mentioned the differences are more pronounced than in strong reactions or in later stages of the reactions when the consequences of tissue injury and reparatory processes obscure the original reaction.
We studied the microscopic structure of skin reactions in more than 40 guinea pigs and examined about 180 skin reactions. We compared the different types of skin reactions in the same animal whenever possible. Reactions were examined, 1, 2, 6, 24, and 48 hours after the injection, and different antigens were used, as egg white, crystalline egg albumin, tubercle bacilli and a tuberculin preparation, obtained from the synthetic culture medium (Long) after concentration with ammonium sulphate and elimination of the substances precipitable by acids. For the study of the anaphylactic type of skin sensitiveness we used actively and passively sensitized guinea pigs, both normal and tuberculous. It was necessary to examine tuberculous guinea pigs, as the infection itself exerts under certain conditions an influence on the cellular reaction in the inflammatory processes. We examined tuberculin type of reactions, both with tuberculin and egg white.
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