586 BACTERIOLOGY. 



1884 Groth 1 demonstrated further that such a disinte- 

 gration of leucocytes occurred in normal circulating 

 blood, though here it was not accompanied by coagula- 

 tion. The results of these observations suggested the 

 question : Does such a disintegration occur when vege- 

 table protoplasm is introduced into the blood ? 



For the purpose of answering this question, Grohmann, 2 

 a pupil of Alexander Schmidt, undertook to study the ac- 

 tion of the circulating blood upon the vegetable proto- 

 plasm of bacteria. He noticed that clotting of the blood 

 of the horse was very much accelerated by the addition to 

 it of certain bacteria ; that at the same time the develop- 

 ment of the bacteria was checked, and in the case of the 

 pathogenic varieties their virulence was diminished. 

 This was particularly the case when the anthrax bacil- 

 lus was employed. 



Grohmann seems to have appreciated the significance 

 of this observation, though he made no attempt to study 

 the subject more closely. He remarks that the system 

 probably possesses, in the plasma of the blood, a body hav- 

 ing disinfectant properties. 3 His observations on this 

 particular point were, however, only incidental, and it 

 was not until the researches of Nuttall, directed especi- 

 ally toward the question of germicidal properties of 

 normal animal fluids, that a complete and acceptable 

 demonstration of this important function was forthcom- 

 ing, and that a general interest, commensurate with its 

 importance, was created in the subject. 



1 Ueber die Schicksale der farblosen Elemente in kreisendem Blut. 

 Dissertation, Dorpat, 1884. 



2 Ueber die Einwirkung des zellenfreien Blutplasma auf einige 

 pflanzliche Mikro-organismen. Dissertation, Dorpat, 1884. 



3 Loc. cit., pp. 6 and 33. 



