Pathogenesis 339 



gas-production after death has nothing to do with pathogenesis 

 during life is shown by injecting into the ear-vein of a rabbit a 

 liquid culture of the gas bacillus, permitting about five minutes' 

 time for the distribution of the bacilli throughout the circula- 

 tion, and then killing the rabbit. In a few hours the rabbit will 

 swell and its organs and tissues be riddled with the gas bubbles. 



At times, however, as in a case of Graham, Stewart and Baldwin, 

 there is no doubt but that the bacillus produces gas in the tissues 

 of the body during life. These observers, in a case of abortion with 

 subsequent infection, found the patient " emphysematous from the 

 top of her head to the soles of her feet" several hours before death. 



In this case, in which the bacillus was found in pure culture, 

 it would indeed be difficult to doubt that the fatal issue was due to 

 Bacillus aerogenes capsulatus. 



An excellent review of the early literature of the subject is to be 

 found in " A Contribution to the Knowledge of the Bacillus Aerog- 

 enes Capsulatus," by W. T. Howard, Jr.* 



* " Contributions to the Science of Medicine by the Pupils of W. H. Welch," 

 1900, p. 461. 



