The Emigration of Pneumococci Type Iii from the Blood into the Thoracic Duct Lymph of Rabbits, and the Survival of These Organisms in the Lymph following Intravenous Injection of Specific Antiserum

1. Rabbits injected intravenously with a large dose of a virulent Type III Pneumococcus develop a bacteremia, and within an hour organisms may be cultivated from the thoracic duct lymph. The rapidity with which entrance into the lymph occurs appears to be correlated with the size of the dose injected. 2. The organisms may become more numerous in the lymph than in the blood. 3. If homologous or heterologous antisera are injected, the blood may be sterilized, but though the organisms may be lessened in the lymph, sterilization at least within 4 hours is not secured, and in the intact animal living organisms must continue to enter the blood with the thoracic duct lymph. 4. In infected rabbits after intravenous injection of considerable quantities of antisera containing moderate amounts of agglutinin, no antibody appears in the thoracic duct lymph although the presence of horse serum may be detected. The injection of a very large quantity of antiserum containing a high titre of agglutinin is followed by the penetration of antibody into the lymph. This, however, has failed to sterilize the lymph or to permanently affect the rate of multiplication of the pneumococci.