EXPERIMENTS WITH CYTOST 105 



colon bacillus were added to the diet. However, since 

 this organism is normally found in the alimentary 

 tract and the heart's blood of the experimental animals 

 was found to be sterile, we may for the moment at- 

 tribute little significance to the presence of the bacilli 

 in the food. As a result of such feeding the dogs were 

 found at autopsy to have suffered multiple peptic and 

 duodenal ulcers, and venous congestion of the liver 

 and kidneys. 



Upon histological examination, the liver cells, par- 

 ticularly in the central portions of the lobules, were 

 found to have undergone degenerative changes, while 

 in the peripheral portions numerous small vacuoles 

 were observed in them. Similarly the stomach and in- 

 testines showed glandular and vascular changes, ap- 

 pearing edematous, with the blood vessels more or 

 less engorged. The kidneys were also involved ; the 

 glomeruli were separated from the capsule, the capil- 

 laries were engorged, and the peripheral cells lining 

 the tubules were swollen ; in some instances, their out- 

 lines had disappeared. In some cases in which the pe- 

 riod of feeding lasted for several months, arterio- 

 sclerotic changes were found. Judging by the failure 

 of the nuclei to stain properly, all the organs showed 

 evidence of autolysis. In none of the experimental 

 animals could any evidence be found for the existence 

 of a bacteriemia or inflammatory reaction. In conse- 

 quence it appears that the colon bacillus played a 

 minor role in these experiments and that the observed 

 pathology was due to the products of tissue autolysis 

 resulting from partial inanition. If the reader will 

 compare the tissue changes induced by such treatment 

 with those produced by cytost, either injected as such 



