GENUS BACTERIUM 245 



Konew gave the name Malleasa. In this laboratory the pre- 

 cipitation method has not been satisfactory. 11 



Fixation of complement. For this method see chapter 

 on specific bacterial products, tissue reactions and immunity. 



BACTERIUM TUBERCULOSIS (KOCH) MIGULA. 



Synonyms. Bacillus tuberculosis Koch, Mykobacterium 

 tuberculosis Lehmann and Neumann. 



Place in nature. This organism is the cause of the dis- 

 ease known as tuberculosis. Tuberculosis is a disease of the 

 bovine species most extensively but other mammalia are to a 

 greater or a less extent affected by it. It also occurs in 

 chickens and it has been described in certain species of fish. 

 It is likewise one of the most serious diseases of the human 

 family. Bad. tuberculosis was discovered by Robert Koch 1 

 in 1882. The transmission of the disease by means of tubercu- 

 lous material was shown to be possible by Klenke in 1843. In 

 1865, Villernin succeeded in transmitting the disease by inocu- 

 lating tuberculous tissues into susceptible animals. Other 

 observers contributing to the knowledge of the infectiousness 

 of this disease were Van Zurn, Buhl, Klebs, Toussaint and 

 others. 2 Koch isolated the organism from tuberculous tissues 

 from various sources. He produced characteristic lesions in 

 guinea pigs and other animals by inoculating them with pure 

 cultures of the bacterium. 



At first the organisms obtained from tuberculous lesions 

 of man and of cattle were thought to be identical. Those from 

 fowls were different. This conclusion of Koch was confirmed 

 by a number of workers and the belief that these organisms 

 were identical was not questioned. In 1898, Theobald Smith 3 

 pointed out three differences existing in the tubercle organ- 



11 Fitch. Report of the New York State Veterinary College, 

 1910-11. 



1 Koch. Berl. klin. Woch., No. 15, 1882. 



Koch. Mittheilung a. d. Gesundheitsamte, Vol. II (1884). 



2 See Johne. Geschichte der Tuberkulose. Leipsic, 1883. 



3 Smith. Jour, of Exper. Med., Vol. Ill (1898) p. 45. 



