BACILLUS CEDEMATIS MALIGNI 493 



hypertrophic tonsillitis; the organisms were deep in the tissues, 

 where they could be distinctly seen in sections, and they did not form 

 spores; at least none could be demonstrated by the ordinary methods. 

 When the organism was isolated from the tonsillar tissue it appeared 

 to have lost its fermentative powers to a very considerable degree, 

 but rapidly regained them with repeated transfer in artificial media. 

 Similarly, the organism has been isolated from the petrous portion 

 of the temporal bone bilaterally in an infant which died of a severe 

 gas bacillus infection of the intestinal tract. 



Distributions. The organism is found in sewage, in impure water, 

 in dust, very frequently in the intestinal tract of man, and probably 

 of animals. In the past B. aerogenes capsulatus has almost undoubt- 

 edly been confused with the bacillus of malignant edema. Thus, 

 Grigorjeff and Ukke 1 found an organism complicating typhoid fever, 

 which produced typical foamy organs; this they identified as the 

 bacillus of malignant edema. It is very probable that this organ- 

 ism was in reality the gas bacillus, as was the organism described by 

 Brieger and Ehrlich 2 in a somewhat similar case. 



BACILLUS CEDEMATIS MALIGNI. 



Historical. The bacillus of malignant edema is the oldest known 

 anaerobic organism of which there is an authentic description. It was 

 described by Pasteur, Joubert and Chamberland, 3 later by Koch. 4 

 Pasteur and his associates obtained the bacillus from a localized epi- 

 demic of acute septicemia in small animals, characterized by a local 

 edema at the site of infection. They reproduced the disease by inocu- 

 lating the organism into other animals, or by the injection of putres- 

 cerit animal tissues. The bacillus was called Vibrion septique. Koch 

 studied malignant edema in larger animals and called attention to 

 the localized edema and the absence of generalized sepsis, which are 

 the characteristic features of the disease. Koch called the organism 

 Bacillus oedematis maligni. 



Morphology. B. oedematis maligni is a slender rod, 0.8 to 1 micron 

 in diameter by 2 to 10 microns in length, with rounded ends, frequently 

 occurring in long chains, particularly in the animal body. It is motile 

 under anaerobic conditions and possesses numerous peritrichic flagella, 

 usually about twenty. No capsule has been observed. Sporulation 



1 Centralbl. f. Bakt., 1899, xxv, 253. 2 Berl. klin. Wchnschr., 1882, No. 44. 



3 Bull, de 1'acad. de Science, 1878, Ixxxvi, 1038. 



4 Mitt. a. d. kais. Gesamte, 1881, i, 52. 



