Abstract
Numerous attempts have been made to demonstrate the formation of antibodies at the site of injection of antigen in the skin or subcutaneous tissue. The literature on this subject has been reviewed by Burnet and Fenner(1) and also by Oakley and his associates(2). Employing alum precipitated diphtheria or tetanus toxoids the latter authors found that after a single secondary injection of these antigens into the skin, fat or voluntary muscle of rabbits or guinea pigs, specific antitoxin may be formed at the site of the deposition of the toxoids. However, the local formation of antitoxin was not demonstrable in a group of seven horses given a single secondary intracutaneous injection of alum precipitated diphtheria or tetanus toxoids. Evidence for the formation of antibodies in the rabbit at the site of intracutaneous injection of killed tubercle bacilli in paraffin oil was obtained by Westwater(3). He found antibodies fixing complement in the presence of tubercle bacilli in the extracts of the cutaneous nodules before they appeared in the blood.
It may be justified to report the following observation in part because it does not involve the extraction of tissue.
Horse No. 848 was injected repeatedly with concentrated diphtheria toxoid, combined with Falba, paraffin oil and heat killed and dried tubercle bacilli into the deep subcutaneous tissue(4). Some of the injections were made omitting the mycobacteria and in one instance concentrated broth was substituted for toxoid. The 7th, 8th and 10th injections produced areas of inflammation from which fluid could be withdrawn by hypodermic syringe. The fluid was slightly turbid and contained mononuclear cells, polymorphonuclear leucocytes, lymphocytes and a few red blood cells. The eosinophiles were numerous. There were also fragmented, pyknotic cells. The antitoxin titer of the samples of centrifugalized fluid and that of the blood were compared.
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