MICROPHYTES FOUND IN THE BLOOD. 399 



morning there were only linked or rosary-chain spirilla in his 

 blood. They were not very numerous^ and their movements were 

 not of that rusJiing character ordinarily observed, but conveyed 

 the impression of tumhling across the field. 



Fig. is. — Beaded or rosary-cliain appearance assumed by tlie spirilla found 

 in the blood of a fever patient at Bombay (sketched as seen by llart- 

 nack's immersion objective No. 9, ocular 4). 



The inference which such an observation appears to warrant is, 

 that when the blood acquires a certain as yet undetermined condi- 

 tion it becomes unadapted to the existence of spirilla, and that 

 the fibrils thereupon undergo segmentation, after the manner of 

 other schizomycetes [compare wdth fig. 11, PI. XYII], and the 

 separated plastides become diffused throughout the circulation ; 

 possibly, they then gradually disappear in the same manner as we 

 have seen other plastides (minute bacteria, &c.), disappear very 

 rapidly after being injected into the circulation. This appears 

 to me to be more probable than that they continue in the circula- 

 tion until the blood reacquires the state suitable to their growth 

 into fibrils, seeing that the time for their return is so uncertain 

 — it may be two days, may be six days, or a fortnight even, and 

 perhaps they may not return at all. Be that as it may, it is 

 clearly evident that their existence as spirilla is dependent on 

 the composition of the fluids of the body. 



Heydenreich suggests that their disappearance is due to the 

 elevated temperature of the blood at the height of a paroxysm. 

 If that were the case, they ought to become more numerous with 

 the fall of temperature after death, but it is well known that they 

 disappear exceedingly rapidly when hfe becomes extinct, in this 

 respect offering a marked contrast to other members of the cleft- 

 fungi group — bacteria and bacilH. 



The fact of their total disappearance immediately after death, 

 probably even before death actually takes place, is very signifi- 

 cant, as showing the extremely close relation which exists between 

 them and the blood in living tissues, seeing that when the blood 

 is removed from the body the spirilla will, under favorable con- 

 ditions, retain their power of locomotion for several hours or 

 days. What these subtle changes of the blood during fever pro- 



