BACILLUS OF RHINOSCLEROMA 451 



species or not, can not at present be decided. The bacillus of Fried- 

 lander has been found in empyema fluid, in pericardial exudate (after 

 pneumonia), and in spinal fluid. 1 Isolated cases of Friedlander bacillus 

 septicemia have been described. 2 Being occasionally a saprophytic 

 inhabitant of the normal intestine, it has been believed to be etiologic- 

 ally associated with some forms of diarrheal enteritis. 



B. mucosus capsulatus is pathogenic for mice and guinea-pigs, less so 

 for rabbits. Inoculation of susceptible animals is followed by local in- 

 flammation and death by septicemia. If inoculation is intraperitoneal, 

 there is formed a characteristically mucoid, stringy exudate. 



The question of immunization against bacilli of the Friedlander 

 group is still in the stage of experimentation. Immunization with care- 

 fully graded doses of dead bacilli has been successful in isolated cases. 

 Specific agglutinins in immune serum have been found by Clairmont, 3 

 but irregularly and potent only against the particular strain used for 

 the immunization. 



OTHER BACILLI OP THE FRIEDLANDER GROUP 



Bacillus of Rhinoscleroma. This bacillus, discovered by v. Frisch 4 

 in 1882, is a plump, short rod, with rounded ends, morphologically 

 almost identical with Friedlander's bacillus; it is non-motile and pos- 

 sesses a distinct capsule. Although at first described as Gram-positive, 

 it has been shown to be decolorized with this method of staining. Cul- 

 turally it is almost identical with B. mucosus capsulatus. It forms 

 slimy colonies, has a nail-like appearance in gelatin stab cultures, and in 

 pepton solutions produces no indol. It differs from B. mucosus cap- 

 sulatus (Wilde 5 ) in forming no gas in dextrose bouillon, in producing 

 no acid in lactose bouillon, and in never coagulating milk. 



Pathogenicity. The bacillus of rhinoscleroma is but moderately 

 pathogenic for animals delicately susceptible to the bacillus of Fried- 

 lander. Rhinoscleroma, the disease produced by this bacillus in man, 

 consists of a slowly growing granulomatous inflammation, located usu- 

 ally at the external nares or upon the mucosa of the nose, mouth, 

 pharynx, or larynx. It is composed of a number of chronic, hard, 

 nodular swellings, which, on histological examination, show granulation 

 tissue and productive inflammation. In the meshes of the abundant 



1 Jdger, Zeit. f . Hyg., xix. 2 Howard, Johns Hopkins Hosp. Bull., 1899. 



3 Clairmont, Zeit. f. Hyg., xxxix. 4 v. Frisch, Wien. med. Woch., 1882. 

 * Wilde, Cent. f. Bakt., xx, 1896. 



