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Pathology. - "On the Origin of Pulmonary Anthracosis" By 

 P. Nieuwenhuijse. (From the Pathological Institute in Utrecht). 

 (Communicated by Prof. C. II. II. Spronck. 



(Communicated in the meeting of January 26, 1907). 



As is known, von Behring and Calmette oppose the doctrine accord- 

 ing to which the pulmonary tuberculosis among mankind proceeds 



in most cases from inhalation or aspiration of tuberclebacilli. The} 

 presume the tractus intestinalis to be the porte d'entrée ofthe virus. 



In connection with this new hypothesis Vansteenberghe and Grisez 1 ) 

 have made some experiments at the end of 1905 in Calmette's 

 laboratory about the origin of lung-anthracosis. 



They mixed the food of full-grown cavies with soot, Indian ink 

 or carmine and made the animals eat a large quantity of this. After 

 24 hours already they found resp. black and red spots in the lungs 

 especially in the upperlobes and along the edge of the underlobes. 



Vansteenberghk and Grisez concluded from these results that 

 the fine parts, taken up in the intestines, pass through the mesenteric 

 glands and thoracic duct and after having reached the blood in this 

 way, they are caught by the lungs. 



According to their conclusion the carbon particles suspended in the 

 atmosphere would not be inhaled, but swallowed, thus reaching the lungs 

 via the intestines. The theory of the intestinal origin of the pulmo- 

 nary anthracosis was propounded half a century ago by Villaret 2 ); 

 it had however met with little success, and after the careful resear- 

 ches made by Arnold 3 ) on the inhalation of tine particles it was 

 totally forgotten. 



Whereas Vansteenberghe and Grisez tried to defend the theory of 

 Yillaret, after having made new experiments and no less a person 

 than von Behring doubted the exactness of the generally assumed 

 opinion, no one will be surprised that criticism soon followed. 



Whilst I was working in the laboratory of Prof. Spronck, to 

 whom I offer my thanks for his continual interest in this research, 

 repeating the experiments of Vansteenberghe and Grisez, several 

 treatises appeared on this subject. First of all A.SCHOFF ') advanced 



i) Annales de l'Institut Pasteur, L905, p. 787. 



~) Villaret: Cas rare d'anthracosis, Paris, 18(1:2 ref. in Schmidt's med. .lain It. 

 1862, Bd. 11G. 



3 ) Arnold: Untersuchungen ueber Staubinhalation mid Staubmetaslasc, Leipzig, I ss -~> 



*) Sitzungsber. der Gesellschaft zur Bef. der Ges. Naturwissenschaft, Marburg, 

 13 Juni, 1906. 



