812 EXPERIMENT STATION KECOKD. 



organs, blood serum of tuberculous and healthy guinea pigs and children, and simi- 

 lar tuberculous and nontuberculous material preserved in salt solution. As a result 

 of these experiments, it was found that the pure blood serum of healthy guinea pigs 

 together with tuberculin caused an elevation of temperature in healthy rabbits in a 

 large percentage of cases. When the blood serum was preserved in salt solution, the 

 elevation of temperature was more constant and more pronounced. The blood serum 

 of healthy children, together with tulierculin, caused an elevation of temperature 

 only when it was preserved in salt solution. Pure blood serum of tuberculous guinea 

 pigs, together with tuberculin, when injected into healthy rabbits invariably caused 

 a rise of temperature, while the pure blood serum of tuberculous children, together 

 with tuberculin, caused a rise of temperature in a number of cases, and this elevation 

 of temperature was more pronounced when the material was preserved in salt 

 solution. 



The authors draw the following conclusions from these experiments: Tuberculin is 

 a relialjle iliagnostic agent for tuberculosis, but its value in differential diagnosis is 

 nuicli less. Reaction to tuberculin may be obtained in consequence of the presence 

 of other pathological processes than tuberculosis, and this appears to be especially 

 true for man. In veterinary practice tuberculin is considered a valuable reagent in 

 cases where it is necessary to determine whether an apparently healthy animal is 

 tuberculous or not. It appears to be desirable, however, in making tuberi'ulin tests 

 to observe carefully the symptoms of the animal before injecting the tuberculin and 

 to have a record of variations in temperature for a number of days previous to the 

 inoculation. 



Concerning: bacilli which resemble those of tuberculosis and the bacilli of 

 smegma, A. Wekek {Arh. K. (lesuinUwitmnite, 19 {1903), Xo. 3, pp. 251-283, 

 pis. J). — A review of the literature of this subject is presented in connection with an 

 extensive bibliography from 1882 to 1902. The organisms belonging to the class of 

 acid-fast bacteria are divided by the author into 3 groups: The first group contains 

 the nearest relatives of the human tubercle bacillus (viz, the bacilli of bovine and 

 avian tuberculosis and bacilli found in fish and other cold-blooded animals) ; the sec- 

 ond group contains bacilli of a saprophytic nature, which have received various 

 names according to the material in which they are found; the third group includes 

 smegma bacilli. The author confined his attention during the experiments reported 

 in this ]>aper to the second and third groups. The subject matter of the author's 

 report on the second group includes a discussion of the origin, distribution, differ- 

 entiation, diagnosis, cultural and morphological characters, staining reactions, and 

 effect upon the animal l)ody, of this group of bacilli. Emphasis is laid on the neces- 

 sity of exercising particular care in making cultures from suspicious material in order 

 to avoid confusing acid-fast bacilli of nonpathogenic nature with virulent tubercle 

 bacilli, which they closely resemble in almost every respect except virulence. It 

 has been asserted by some investigators that these acid-fast bacilli may produce 

 pathological effects which closely resemble those of tuberculosis. The author there- 

 fore undertook a number of experiments in inoculating guinea pigs, rabbits, mice, 

 chickens, and pigeons with these organisms. In none of the experiments was there 

 any pathological process established which possessed a progressive character and 

 which involved all of the internal organs. The bacteria with which experiments 

 were made, however, appeared to exercise a pathogenic action to a certain extent. 

 The effect of these bacilli, however, appears not to be in the nature of a true infec- 

 tion, but rather that of a foreign body. During the exj^eriments in subcutaneous 

 inoculation of guinea pigs it was found that the organisms did not remain at the 

 point of inoculation and in the neighboring lymphatic glands but were carried into 

 the internal organs, presumably through the agency of phagocytes. In the latter 

 situation the organisms may produce slight alterations of the tissue. 'Small yel- 

 lowish foci were found in the liver of the animals 4 months after inoculation. From 



