The study of the question whether the production of antibodies is limited only to certain specific tissues (the hematopoietic organs) or whether it may take place in different tissues is important from both the biologic and the therapeutic point of view. If the ubiquitous origin were to be proved, it would be possible, as Ehrlich said several years ago,1 to facilitate the process of immunity by inciting the formation of antibodies, not only in the important differentiated organs, but also in the nondifferentiated tissues, such as the subcutaneous tissue. As we shall show later, the assumption of the possible production of antibodies anywhere in the organism was admitted and proved experimentally, and it led to specific treatment in various diseases.
On the question of the origin of the antibodies that give the positive Wassermann reaction in the cerebrospinal fluid, two opinions have been advanced and will be discussed in