CHAPTER III. 

 TETANUS* 



BACILLUS TETANI (FLUGGE). 



General Characteristics. A motile, flagellated, sporogenous, 

 liquefying, obligatory anaerobic, non-chromogenic, toxic, pathogenic 

 bacillus of the soil, staining by ordinary methods and by Gram's 

 method. Its chief morphologic characteristic is the occurrence of a 

 large round spore at one end. 



The bacillus of tetanus was discovered by Nicolaier * in 

 1884, and obtained in pure culture by Kitasatof in 1889. 

 It is universally acknowledged to be the cause of tet- 

 anus. 



Distribution. The tetanus bacillus is a common sapro- 

 phyte in garden earth, dust, and manure, and is a constant 

 parasite in the intestinal canal of herbivorous animals. 



The relation of the bacillus to manure is interesting, but 

 it is most probable that manured ground, because it is 

 richer, permits the bacilli to flourish better than sterile 

 ground. The common occurrence of the bacilli in the 

 excrement of herbivorous animals is to be explained through 

 the accidental ingestion of earth with the food cropped from 

 the ground. The spores of the bacillus thus reaching the 

 intestine, seem able to develop because of appropriate 

 anaerobic conditions. 



Verneuil has observed that tetanus rarely occurs at sea 

 except upon cattle transports, where there is likely to be 

 considerable earth and dust from hay, straw, etc., which 

 may carry the bacilli. 



Le Dantec t has shown that the tetanus bacillus is a 

 common organism in New Hebrides, where the natives poison 

 their arrows by dipping them into a clay rich in tetanus 

 bacilli. 



*" Deutsche med. Wochenschrift," 1884, 42. 



t/Wd., 1889, No. 31. 



J See abstracts in the "Centralbl. f. Bakt. u. Parasitenk.," IX. 

 286; xm, 351. 



25 385 



