338 BACTERIA IN INFECTIOUS DISEASES. 



face ; they apparently spread into the organs from the 

 cellular tissue around. They may also form plugs in 

 the capillaries, though this is rare. In some cases 

 putrefaction occurs rapidly, but in others it is apparently 

 retarded. 



" With regard to the cultivation of these organisms 

 outside the body, it has been found by Pasteur, Joubert, 

 etc., that they will not develop in presence of oxygen, 

 but readily grow when carbonic-acid gas is substituted 

 for oxygen in the cultivating flasks. This observation is 

 confirmed by Gaffky, who grew them in the interior of 

 potatoes removed from the air. These bacilli caused 

 death when injected into the subcutaneous cellular 

 tissue, thus showing that they were the true materies 

 morbi. 



" Of great interest is the question of the relation of 

 these organisms to those found by Lewis in the blood 

 of asphyxiated animals, especially of rats, an observa- 

 tion confirmed by Gaffky. These organisms are found 

 most frequently in the blood of horses, and Koch ex- 

 plains this by the slower cooling of their bodies. In 

 smaller animals, these organisms, which probably come 

 from the intestine, do not develop rapidly, unless the 

 body be kept at a temperature of about 38 C. Dr. 

 Gaffky asphyxiated a guinea-pig, and then placed 

 the body in an incubator. In twenty-four hours the 

 body was much swollen from gas-development ; and from 

 the natural orifices bloody fluid exuded, containing 

 numerous bacilli indistinguishable from oedema bacilli. 

 Everywhere throughout the body, more especially in 

 the subcutaneous cellular tissue, these bacilli were 

 present in large numbers. A drop of fluid from the 

 cellular tissue was injected into a second guinea-pig. 

 This animal died on the following day, with the typical 

 appearances of malignant oedema. A minute quantity 



