AVIAN TUBERCULOSIS. — EXPERIMENTAL STUDY. 545 



Straus and Gamaleia were unable to convey mammalian tuberculosis to 

 fowls; and M. Nocard had no greater success in a fresh series of 

 experiments. 



We have further pursued the study of this question. We inoculated 

 thirty-nine fowls and a pheasant with tuberculous material obtained 

 from man and from various mammals. 



Inoculation with Human Tuberculosis. — In most of our experiments 

 we employed pulmonary tuberculous material, choosing recent un- 

 softened centres, so as to obtain a pure lesion and to avoid injecting 

 mixtures of microbes. 



(i) In the first series of experiments we directly inoculated a guinea- 

 pig and two fowls with human tuberculosis ; the guinea-pig died in 

 twenty-eight days with classical generalised tuberculosis ; a fowl 

 inoculated in the peritoneum was killed at the end of 211 days; its 

 viscera appeared healthy, and inoculation of a fragment of its liver into 

 a guinea-pig produced no appreciable disturbance. The results in the 

 second fowl, which was intra-venously inoculated, were very different. 

 This fowl was killed at the end of forty-two days, when it appeared in 

 perfect health. We were, therefore, exceedingly surprised to find in its 

 liver and spleen a considerable number of extremely minute granula- 

 tions ; they consisted of greyish, semi-transparent tubercles, evidently 

 of recent date. This discovery alone seemed to show that the tuber- 

 culosis was not spontaneous in character ; if the changes had existed 

 prior to our inoculation they would have presented an entirely different 

 aspect. As we before showed, one often finds in such cases large 

 yellowish masses, not a crowd of greyish granulations. But if any 

 doubt remain, it should be dissipated by the results of inoculations 

 made with the liver of this fowl. An emulsion of the liver was injected 

 into the peritoneal cavities of a guinea-pig and a fowl ; the guinea-pig 

 died in seventy-two days of generalised tuberculosis ; the fowl was 

 killed at the end of 207 days, but its organs remained healthy. This 

 experiment appeared to us absolutely conclusive. We were dealing 

 with human tuberculosis, and the bacillus which had in the first fowl 

 produced tuberculous granulations had preserved its specific properties: 

 inoculated into a second fowl it failed to produce tubercles, which would 

 certainly have developed had we been dealing with an accidental avian 

 tuberculosis. This fact alone sufficiently demonstrates that the bacillus 

 of human tuberculosis may sometimes produce visceral granulations in 

 the fowl. 



As before, w^e summarise the results of the experiments in tabular 

 form, so that the series of inoculations may more easily be followed. 



M M 



