Dr. R. W. Philip has made an experimental study to determine the cause
of death in phthisis. The results of his study are published in the
_Brit. Med. Jour._ of Jan. 28th, 1888.
His experiments were conducted with an extract prepared from fresh
sputum from phthisical patients, as follows:
The sputum was treated with alcohol, put in a sterilizer, and heated to
37 to 40° C. for some time, filtered clear, and evaporated at a low
temperature until the alcohol was expelled. This extract was used for
subcutaneous injections in frogs, mice, and rabbits.
This extract was found to possess very marked toxic properties upon
these animals, which manifested themselves by a depression of the higher
nerve centres and of the heart. The depressant action upon the heart
seemed to be exerted through the cardio-inhibitory mechanism, and is
more or less completely antagonized by atropine.
The toxic principle he believes to be the result of the growth of the
tubercular bacilli, and allied to the ptomaines. He found the quantity
of the substance to be extracted from the sputum to be proportional to
the abundance of the bacilli present in it. These observations are in
accordance with the observations of various experimenters with other
pathogenic organisms, and with the theory that seems to be gaining
ground that immunity is the result of such by-products of the growth of
these organisms.