CHAPTER XXXII. 

 TETANUS, RABIES, AND LOUPING-ILL. 



TETANUS. 



TETANUS is a communicable disease of man and the lower anim.il>, 

 characterised by spasmodic contraction of the mux-lrs. It is com- 

 monly the result of an injury, and occurs especially after wound* 

 produced by means of splinters of wood or contaminated with earth 

 or dust, and may follow after surgical operations. 



Carle and Rattone first showed, in 1884, that the disease could 

 be communicated from man to other animals. Rabbits inoculated 

 with pus from a case in man developed tetanus, and from these 

 rabbits the disease was conveyed to others. Nicola ier, the following 

 year, found that mice and rabbits inoculated with earth often 

 contracted tetanus, and that the pus which formed at the seat of 

 inoculation contained, amongst other organisms, charact-ri>tic Kaeilli. 

 Pure cultures were first obtained by Kitasato. 



Bacillus of Tetanus. Slender, straight rods, and filamentous 

 forms. Spore formation takes place at the end of a bacillus, giving 

 it a drumstick appearance. They stain with aniline dyes, but best 

 with Neelseii's solution, or by Gram's method. By the Ziehl-Ne*'l>-n 

 method and methylene-blue, the spores can be stained ivd, in 

 contrast to the bacilli, which are stained blue. The bacilli 

 anaerobic, liquefy gelatine, and are slightly motile. They can be 

 grown at the ordinary temperature, but most readily at the t 

 perature of the blood, in an atmosphere of hydrogen, especially 

 the addition of 1 or 2 per cent, of grape sugar to the nutrient 

 medium. The young colonies on plate cultivations some^ 

 resemble those of Bacillus subtilis. They have an opaque <-, 

 and are surrounded by fine rays, extending in all dinvti,,n.- l,k- 

 thistle-down. In the depth of gelatine a ray-like growth QC 

 in the lower part of the track of the needle. The gelatine i> h<jue- 

 tied very slowly, and gas is given off. The cultures 



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