PROTEIN SENSITIZATION IN SKIN DISEASES: URTICARIA AND ITS ALLIES

INTRODUCTION  One man's meat is another man's poison. This venerable aphorism attests the antiquity of our practical knowledge of sensitization. The first scientists to note the phenomenon with wonder were Jenner and Magendie. The first to note it appreciatively and reflectively was Richet.¹ The first to bring it into relation with cutaneous medicine were von Pirquet and Schick.² The only notable efforts to apply it to diagnosis were made by Smith³ in connection with buckwheat poisoning, and by Schloss⁴ in connection with egg albumin urticaria. The von Pirquet⁵ test for tuberculosis suggested a method by which sensitization to various proteins could be clinically determined. Smith and Schloss, as stated, were the first to apply the procedure with results. In the meantime, White,⁶ Strickler,⁷ Blackfan,⁸ McBride and Schorer⁹ essayed in this field, but their investigations concerned chiefly eczema and, although their enthusiasm