EXPERIMENTATION AND SURGERY 



occurs in man and animals, chiefly the horse. 

 The cause of the disease was discovered by Ni- 

 collaier to be the tetanus bacillus. The same 

 organism is identified in both man and animals. 

 The organism is found in the soil generally; 

 and wounds becoming infected with earth are 

 particularly prone to develop tetanus. The 

 tetanus bacillus having been discovered, Behr- 

 ing and Kitasato, by animal experimentation, 

 perfected an antitoxin which renders man and 

 animals immune. No antitoxin has yet been 

 evolved that will cure this disease. If it is sus- 

 pected that an individual has received tetanus 

 infection, and the antitoxin is used, the disease 

 does not develop; but in cases in which teta- 

 nus has developed the antitoxin has but little 

 effect. The disease has such a high mortality 

 and the sources of infection are so well under- 

 stood that it is much employed as a prophylac- 

 tic in possible infection. Tetanus does not 

 develop until one, two, or three weeks or more 

 after the tetanus baccillus has gained entrance 

 to the body through the wound. One of the 

 wounds most commonly followed by lockjaw 

 is the blank cartridge wound of the hand com- 

 mon on the glorious Fourth of July. The 

 death rate from these wounds is appalling. 



