^82 Veterbiaty Medicine. 



extending from its primary centre, but with a debilitated system, 

 an extended enteritis, or when the invasion is made by septic 

 crerms it is likely to become speedily and fatally generalized. 



Pernice has shown, however, that peritonitis may occur inde- 

 pendently of infection. The injection into the cavity of concen- 

 trated mineral acids, acetic acid, phenol, nitrate of silver and 

 other powerful antiseptics determine inflammation by their purely 

 irritant action. By weakening the tissues of the bowels these in 

 their turn pave the way for the escape of the microbes from the 

 contents, and to the occurrence of a secondary infective inflamma- 

 tion. 



Cases occur as a manifestation of rheumatism, tuberculosis, 

 actinomycosis and other affections which will be treated at greater 

 length under these respective heads. 



The microbes would seem to vary greatly. Soula attributes 

 infection of castration wounds mainly to the bacillus of malignant 

 oedema which is 3 to 3.5 )"■ long and i to 1. 1 yu, broad often bearing 

 a refrangent spore at one end (is sporeless in the peritoneal cult- 

 ures), and growing out into chains in artificial cultures. They 

 are anaerobic, liquefying, motile, easily stained by aniline colors, 

 but bleached by iodine. 



In other forms of peritonitis the bacillus coli commune is found 

 and probably comes from the intestinal contents where it is present 

 in all our domestic animals. 



In man Frankel found the bacillus coli communis 9 times, 

 streptococcus pyogenes 7 tunes, bacillus lactis aerogenes 2 times, 

 micrococcus pneumoniae crouposae i time, .staphylococcus pyo- 

 genes aureus i time. Flexner found the proteus vulgaris. 



