SEPTICAEMIA IN RABBITS. 361 



their presence in post mortem examinations made imme- 

 diately upon the death of the animal. This organism, 

 however, is invariably found in great abundance in the 

 serum which exudes in considerable quantities from 

 the cedematous connective tissue when an incision is 

 made through the integument over any point involved 

 in the inflammatory oedema extending from the original 

 puncture." 



In this, as in other infectious diseases, the final 

 proof that micro-organisms present in infective 

 material are the cause of the train of morbid phe- 

 nomena constituting the disease, is to be obtained 

 only from inoculation experiments with pure cul- 

 tures of these micro-organisms. This proof was 

 obtained for the disease in question during my 

 Baltimore experiments (1881), and a repetition of 

 these experiments in San Francisco (1882) has 

 fully confirmed the results first reported, as is 

 shown by the following record of experiments : 



"Exp. No. 1. San Francisco, July 6, 1882. In- 

 jected twenty-five minims of my own saliva beneath 

 the skin of left flank of each of two half-grown rabbits. 

 Result. Both rabbits were found dead on the morning 

 of July 8. Post mortem examination at 8 A. M. showed 

 extensive cellulitis, dilatation of superficial veins, and 

 abundant effusion of serum in subcutaneous connec- 

 tive tissue. This serum and the blood obtained from 

 the heart, swarmed with micrococci exactly resembling 

 those heretofore found under similar circumstances in 

 New Orleans, Philadelphia, and Baltimore. 1 One rab- 



1 See Special Report to Nat. Board of Health in Bulletin N. B. of H. 

 April 30, 1881. 



