196 ANTHRAX. 



cident with their entrance into the blood-stream. Pasteur 

 and Joubert believe they pierce the capillaries, and thus gain 

 the blood-stream ; and this latter would be the most satisfac- 

 tory way to account for their presence there, as they have been 

 seen under the field of the microscope passing through the 

 walls of capillary vessels. 



In artificial and natural cases the general blood-stream may 

 contain but a small number of the rods. In speaking of 

 splenic fever, Siedamgrotsky says, ' Germs in the blood of 

 animals affected with anthrax adhere to the white corpuscles ;' 

 and' he believes that the filter- work of the spleen retains the 

 white corpuscles : hence the lesion there, and scarcity of 

 bacilli in the general blood-stream. 



The presence of bacilli in blood renders that fluid less 

 coagulable, acting either mechanically or chemically. 



When introduced into the blood of living animals, by their 

 rapid growth and multiplication they become so numerous 

 that they are found blocking up capillaries ; and it is believed 

 qy thus affecting the essential organs death of the bearer is 

 produced. Toussaint attributes the occurrence to asphyxia, 

 from blocking up of minute vessels of the lungs, asserting that 

 an atmosphere of oxygen will not keep a patient alive. 



M. Pasteur believes the fatal phenomena arise from the 

 bacillus robbing the red discs of oxygen, and producing car- 

 bonic anhydride. With these have to be taken into con- 

 sideration the accumulation of effete material, by plugging 

 of vessels of kidneys, mechanical impediment to the heart's 

 action, etc. 



From some experiments of Toussaint and others, there 

 would appear to be some definite relation between the number 

 of bacilli introduced into the system, or at least the blood- 

 stream, and the time at which their fatal effect occurs. 

 Toussaint finds that, when calculating the number inoculated 

 at 15,000,000,000, death occurred in seven hours, at 75,000,000 

 in twelve hours, and at 1,500 in thirty-six hours. 



Protective inoculation by artificially cultivated bacteria, or 

 as preferably but erroneously termed ' vaccination ' by Pasteur^ 

 has by this distinguished scientist been made a most successful 

 subject. The attention which it has drawn from every scientific 

 and specially interested circle has scarcely been surpassed 



