Microbic Diseases Indlcidaally Considered. 169 



much enlarged and darkened ; the pleura and peri- 

 toneum are the seat of exudative infiamraation with 

 fibrinous deposits, and tliere is slight abdominal 

 effusion. 



The blood and organs contain a non-motile micro- 

 coccus, isolated or associated in pairs, 0-7,« to 0-9/z in 

 diameter; it takes the stain quite uniformly through- 

 out, but is not stained by the Gram method. It is at 

 once aerobic and anaerobic, quickly loses its virulence 

 in cultures left in contact with the air, and does not 

 vegetate on gelatin or potato. 



The disease is transmissible from rabbit to rabbit, 

 from the rabbit to the guinea pig and inversely, by 

 inoculation, ingestion and by simple cohabitation. 

 Its virulence becomes attenuated in the organism of 

 the guinea pig, but regains its original strength on its 

 return to the rabbit. In this last a culture which, 

 from age, has lost a part of its virulence gives at first 

 a local abscess. The disease studied by Lucet is not 

 transmissible to the chicken. The food and dejec- 

 tions are the vehicles of the germ and it is by their 

 intermediation that the natural infection occurs. 



Thoinot and Masselin have also studied a spon- 

 taneous septicaemia of the rabbit which decimated 

 the hutches at the Alfort school. The symptoms 

 noted are loss of appetite and vigor, acceleration of 

 respiration, and sometimes diarrhoea. The lesions 

 consist in a dark color of the blood, deep wine color 

 of the muscles, roseate or yellow eff'usion of the 

 peritoneum and pleura, and albuminous urine. 



The disease was attributed to a micrococcus, single 

 or associated in pairs, .motile, presenting in birds the 

 appearance of a short bacillus like the figure 8, of 



