DISEASES CAUSED BY SPIROCILETES 617 



by his ascitic-fluid-tissue method from phagedenic lesions on human 

 external genitals. It is probably a new species. 



Spirochseta macrodentium. Cultivated by Noguchi; 1 is believed by 

 him to be identical with the spirochsete found in Vincent's angina. 



Spirochseta microdentium. A similar organism with wide con- 

 volutions, cultivated by Noguchi from the tooth deposits chiefly in 

 children. It was grown on mixtures of sheep serum water and sterile 

 tissue in a way similar to that employed by him for other organisms of 

 this group. 



Spirochaeta calligyrum. Cultivated by Noguchi 2 from condylomata 

 is probably a new species. 



Weil's Disease. Weil's disease is a malady which has been known 

 for a long time, in which there is a moderate febrile movement, with 

 jaundice, enlarged liver, and a hemorrhagic eruption. In this disease, 

 Inada, Yutaka, Hoki, Kaneko, and Ito 3 have described the Spiro- 

 chaete icterohaemoragica. They have found the organisms in the liver 

 by the Levaditi method, the adrenal glands and the kidneys, and have 

 transmitted it, with the blood of cases, to guinea-pigs by intraperi- 

 toneal injection. They succeeded in cultivating it by the Noguchi 

 method. 



Hat-Bite Fever. Rat-bite fever is a peculiar disease, which, after an 

 incubation period of ten or more days, is characterized by fever, head- 

 ache and inflammation at the site of the bite, swollen lymph glands, 

 skin eruption and pains. After three to six days the fever ceases and 

 an afebrile period of two or three days ensues. After this the fever 

 again occurs. Recently Futaki, Takaki, Taniguchi, and Osumi 4 have 

 described a treponema which they have called Treponema morsus muris.' 

 It is a spiral organism, somewhat larger than the Treponema pallidum, 

 and is found in the skin, the lymph nodes, and in the blood. They 

 have succeeded in inoculating rats and have cultivated it in Schi- 

 mamine medium, which consists of 100 c.c. of horse serum in which 

 0.5 to 0.75 gram of sodium nucleate is dissolved and carbon dioxide 

 passed through the solution until the serum becomes transparent. It 

 is then heated for three days at 60, and on the fourth day at 65 

 until it coagulates. This medium is deeply inoculated, but no other 

 anaerobic precautions are taken. 



1 Noguchi, Jour. Exp. Med., xv, 1912. 2 Noguchi, Jour. Exp. Med., xvii, 1913. 

 3 Jour, of Exp. Med., 1916, xxiii, p. 249. 4 Jour. Exp. Med., 1916, xxiii, p. 377. 



