126 THE BACTERIA IN ASIATIC CHOLERA. [CH. 



Another series of experiments, not less important, were 

 made by van Ermengem as follows : by a Chamberland filter 

 or by heating, he eliminated from his cultures (chiefly in serum) 

 the comma-bacilli themselves, and then injected into the 

 duodenum the remaining fluid only ; he used this in various 

 quantities, but in most instances produced results identical with 

 the above, i.e. death of the animals with the symptoms just 

 described, which he regarded as indicating cholera. But there 

 was this striking difference, that the symptoms and death were 

 retarded in direct proportion to the quantity injected. These 

 observations are in harmony with those of Nicati, Klebs, 

 and other?, who have found that in artificial cultivations 

 of the choleraic comma-bacilli there is present a chemical 

 poison, which in guinea-pigs produces acute poisoning 

 similar to ptomaine-poisoning. But whether from this it can 

 be concluded that when these comma-bacilli are introduced 

 into the intestine, they, by their multiplication necessarily 

 produce therein the same chemical poison, is open to 

 question ; moreover, from van Ermengem's observations, I 

 am inclined to conclude the contrary, namely, that this 

 chemical poison is not necessarily produced by them, and that 

 the comma-bacilli can live and thrive in the intestine 

 without producing any such chemical poisoning. 



Another important point is this : the production by the 

 comma-bacilli of a chemical poison setting up, when injected 

 into a dog or guinea-pig, symptoms identical with ptomaine 

 poisoning, is by no means the exclusive property of the chole- 

 raic comma bacilli, since various other septic bacteria have 

 the same power, 1 and this has been proved experimentally by 

 Berdez. 2 This gentleman found in artificial cultivations in 

 broth of Finkler's comma-bacillus, and of thejequirityj9^///2/.y 

 subtilis, the same chemical poison. As regards Finkler's 



1 See Brieger, loc. cit. 2 Brit. Med. Journ. Nov. 7, 1858. 



