ii.] DISTRIBUTION OF COMMA-BACILLI. 33 



examination the condition of the intestine was such as would 

 merit Koch's term of pure acute cholera ; the post-mortem was 

 made as soon as possible after death, in some instances as 

 early as a quarter of an hour, in others one and a half to 

 two hours, but I did not find anything that showed the 

 presence of comma-bacilli in the intestinal mucous mem- 

 brane, not even in the superficial epithelium where this had 

 kept its position. Such appearances as are described and 

 figured by Koch, 1 or anything approaching them, were not 

 met with in one single instance. But there were cases under 

 observation in which the tissue did contain a few comma- 

 bacilli besides other bacteria, and I will describe these here 

 more in detail. 



In two cases only were there present in sections through 

 the Peyer's glands near the ileo-caecal valve comma-bacilli 

 in some places around Lieberkiihn's crypts, and also scat- 

 tered here and there amongst the superficial parts of the 

 lymph-follicles. But besides the comma-bacilli, and in greater 

 numbers, were straight bacilli, which with the comma-bacilli 

 could be traced from the broken surface into the depth of 

 the mucosa. As one of these is a good example of comma- 

 bacilli being found in the mucosa, but accompanied by a 

 larger number of straight bacilli, we will give the history of 

 this case. The patient, set. thirty, was attacked with vomit- 

 ing and purging at 4.30 p.m. on the 6th October, he was 

 admitted into the J. J. Hospital, Bombay, at 7.30 p.m. on 

 7th October. When admitted he was deeply collapsed, 

 pulse imperceptible, features sunken, extremities cold, no 

 urine. He died at 6 a.m. on 8th October. Post-mortem at 

 8.30 a.m. The patient was evidently moribund from 7.30 

 p.m. of 7th October till 6 a.m. of 8th October, i.e. for 

 1 Loc. cit. p. 6, fig. i. 



D 



