Since it is now recognized that some strains of staphylococci produce a potent exotoxin, it is important to correlate experimental studies of staphylococcus toxin with clinical observations on systemic staphylococcic infections which have been previously reported. The exotoxin is capable of producing several well defined effects on different tissue cells, but it has never been adequately demonstrated whether these effects are due to several different tissue-specific toxins or whether a single toxin affects each tissue differently. Nevertheless, the outstanding results of the action of staphylococcus exotoxin are: hemolysis of red blood cells (hemolysin), destruction of leukocytes (leukocidin), necrosis of skin and subcutaneous tissues on direct injection (dermonecrotoxin), rapid death of laboratory animals on intravenous injection (lethal factor), necrosis of certain other tissues, such as the renal glomeruli and the mucous membranes of the gastrointestinal tract, and irritation of the synovial membrane on injection into joints.1
Effect of Toxin in