26 THE BACTERIA IN ASIATIC CHOLERA. [CH. 



I have seen several such pure cases of acute cholera in 

 which the mucus-flakes suspended in the fluid of the cavity 

 of the small intestine, and the epithelial flakes loosened but 

 still adhering to the mucous membrane, were very carefully 

 examined in stained specimens, but there was rarely such a 

 condition as an almost pure cultivation of comma-bacilli. 

 There were present in the fluid and in the flakes crowds of 

 bacteria ; in some instances and in some flakes the comma- 

 bacilli were extraordinarily numerous, and almost in a state 

 of purity, in others they were scarce and in fact there were 



FIG. 3. PREPARATION OF MUCUS-FLAKES FROM THE ILEUM OF AN ACUTE 

 CASE OF CHOLERA. 



1. Bacterium termo, probably v. Emmerich's bacillus. 



2. Comma-bacilli. 



3. Minute straight bacilli. 



Magnifying power about 1,400. 



some cases where there was difficulty in finding them. 

 What always appeared to me a curious point and difficult to 

 understand was this : in several post-mortem examinations 

 of pure acute cases the anatomical characters of the whole 

 of the small intestine, jejunum and ileum, and its contents 

 were very much the same, yet on microscopic examination 

 of the fluid and the mucus-flakes it was generally found 

 that the number of bacteria present in the jejunum were 

 very small, and gradually increased towards the lower ileum; 

 and this held good not only for the comma-bacilli but also 



