Microbic Diseases Individually Considered. 161 



indeed, great interest from a general bacteriological 

 point of view, but, here, we will only study those 

 germs which the veterinarian is liable to meet with 

 in practice and which it is absolutely necessary that 

 he should be acquainted with. 



The bacillus septicus or septic vibrio takes first rank 

 among those which give rise to the most character- 

 istic phenomena of septicaemia. It is the cause of the 

 complications of wounds described under the names 

 of gaseous gangrene, fulminating gangrene, traumatic 

 gangrene, and malignant oedema. The disease which 

 it occasions in man and animals has been desig- 

 nated gangrenous septiccemia by MM. Chauveau and 

 Arloing. 



Characters of the septic vibrio. — It is a rod measuring 

 4/1 in length by Ip. in breadth, hence shorter than 

 that of bacteridian charbon ; it is often jointed like 

 the latter but its difterent segments 

 have not all the same length, whilst 

 the articulated segments of char- 

 bon are of uniform dimensions. 

 Further, whilst the segmented bac- 

 teridia are cut at right angles and 

 slightly swollen at their ends, these 

 characters are not observed in the 



septic bacillus. According to Chau- ^' -' ^- ^^f^"^ «^ 



'■ 1 A 1 • 1 • T Pasteur s septicgemia 



veau and Arloing, when examined -^ ^^^ peritoneum 



in the oedema of a septicsemic focus, and in the blood. 



it shows itself: Ist. with the char- 4, 5. Segmented 



acters of a bacillis (6« to 50// by In to ^^^^'^^^ 



^ ^ . 1 , • 1 r- J ' 6. Bacillus with 



1.5/^) provided with a spore at one terminal spore.-M. 

 of its extremities, which is occa- and L. 

 24 



