Studies in Specific Hypersensitiveness

[摘要] In a previous paper (1) it was pointed out that certain publications seemed to indicate that some of the forms of hypersensitiveness in human beings (asthma, dermatitis venenata) are rare among the American Indians. It was thought that investigation of this apparent radical difference might produce some information regarding the nature of the different forms of specific human hypersensitiveness as well as some indication of the relation of the American Indian to the other human races. An experimental study of the occurrence of serum disease in 26 volunteer full-blooded American Indians indicated that the Indian race is much less susceptible to that condition than is the white race.That the American Indian is only slightly susceptible to poison ivy was indicated by the report of Lain (2) in which he states that though the Indians frequently apply quite freely on their faces and other exposed parts paints and dyes made from wild plants, berries, etc., the skin of the Indian is apparently almost immune to the poison ivy.

[学科分类] 生物科学（综合）