BACTERIAL CELLULAR SUBSTANCE 41 



mation as caused by bacterial cells. When such cells are 

 disrupted wholly by the body cells, and in a restricted 

 locality, there is marked destruction of the local body 

 cells, and this is the condition which we designate as "local 

 inflammation." On the other hand, when the bacterial 

 cells are disrupted and the cellular poison made soluble 

 before being introduced into the body of the animal, there 

 is no local reaction, or no special local reaction, and conse- 

 quently no recognizable inflammatory conditions. 



While heating suspensions of the cellular substance in 

 water and salt solution does not lessen its toxicity, the 

 poison passes into solution only partially. The heated 

 suspension is more than twice as poisonous as the filtrate 

 from the same. Some of the poison actually goes into 

 solution and the filtrate from hardened paper may be 

 perfectly clear, provided the first portion be returned to 

 the filter, but the greater part of the poison is removed by 

 filtration through paper. It is worthy of note that heated 

 suspensions of the colon cellular substance, filtered or 

 unfiltered, easily become contaminated, and apparently 

 furnish acceptable culture media. 



4. Dilute (0.5 per cent.) solutions of the caustic alkalies 

 disrupt the cellular substance of the colon bacillus slowly 

 and imperfectly. 



This is shown by the following: 100 mg. of the cellular 

 substance was boiled for five minutes in an open dish with a 

 0.5 per cent, solution of sodium hydroxide. The fluid 

 was centrifuged and the deposit found to be still poisonous, 

 while the supernatant fluid was without effect. However, 

 stronger solutions (2 per cent.) of alkali completely disrupt 

 the bacterial cell and dissolve the poison after prolonged 

 heating. As will appear later, the method finally selected 

 for splitting off the poisonous group consists in heating 

 the cellular substance with a 2 per cent, solution of sodium 

 hydroxide in absolute alcohol. 



5. Boiling with a 0.2 per cent, dilution of hydrochloric 

 acid has but little effect upon the bacterial cell or its 

 contained poison. 



