268 



When into an animal a quantity of bacteria is injected 

 intravenously, it is in many cases possible to follow the adventures 

 of these bacteria. WYSSOKOWICZ 2) noted their disappearance 

 from the blood and found them back for a great part in the 

 endothelial cells. HECK 3) saw how typhoid bacteria within six 

 hours disappeared from the blood and even after days he could 

 still trace them in several organs, they were last to be seen 

 in the spleen and the marrow. Further we know that a quantity 

 of the bacteria are excreted directly through the kidneys, the 

 liver, the bileducts, and the intestinal canal, these too have to 

 pass endothelial cells. 4) Tubercle-baccilli brought into the vena 

 partae, are caught in KUPFER's cells. 5) In these cells many 

 other bacteria have been found, and the same holds true for 

 the sinuscells of the spleen. 



In this connection I wish to observe that nonbacterial antigens 

 too are absorbed by the endothelial cells. VAN CALCAR 6) proved 

 this with stained proteins and in more complicated way with 

 albumens. CARY 7) found back injected chromocytes in the liver 

 and the spleen, in special cells which he calls "haemophagi" 

 without giving further particulars. 



To which extent this localisation is a physical process, is 

 hard to say; one could as well think of Chemotaxis. 



These last years have taught us that in many more infectious 

 diseases than was formerly supposed the bacteria and other parasites 

 find their way into the blood. This has been established for the 

 following diseases: typhoid fever, typhus exanthematicus, pneu- 

 monia, anthrax, plague, tuberculosis, erysipelas, diphteria, Leish- 

 maniosis, Weil's disease, Malta-fever, syphilis, meningitis 

 epidemica, coli-infections, gonococcus-infections and many others. 

 We therefore may safely presume that in all infectious diseases 

 parasites get into the blood, and are absorbed by the endothelial 

 cells. What happens next will depend on the condition of these 

 cells, and of course this can greatly differ. Very often the 

 parasites will be simply killed and dissolved. It goes without 

 saying that in this case too changes in the cells will take 

 place. But not always the endothelium will be victorious. In 

 that case we must expect symptoms which express the lesion 

 of endothelial cells. In this way in rheuma, septicaemia and 

 gonococcus-infections endocarditis develops, i.e. the consequence 



