The Effect of Heparin on the Ocular Tuberculin Reaction

Abstract

In a previous communication¹we confirmed the findings of others^2-4on the inhibitory effect of heparin on anaphylactic hypersensitivity. The present study was undertaken to explore the role of heparin in the tuberculin type of hypersensitivity, with use of the eye of the rabbit as a convenient site for observing the local reaction elicited by the injection of specific antigen. <h3>Method</h3> Thirty-two normal adult rabbits were infected with a virulent strain of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (var. hominis) by injecting 0.1 ml. of a saline suspension of living organisms into the anterior chamber of the right eyes. The suspension used for inoculation was standardized so that a 2 mm. platinum loopful, when spread over an area of 1 sq. cm. on a microscope slide, showed an average of 50 organisms per high-power field. The animals developed a progressive tuberculous infection of the inoculated eyes. Three months after infection the animals