CHAPTER XIX. 



BACTERIACEAE. 

 GENUS PSEUDOMONAS MIGULA. 



General discussion of the genus. The genus Pseudo- 

 monas includes the slender rod- shaped motile organisms which 

 have polar flagella. The number of tiagella at each pole varies 

 from 1 to 10 or more. The species in this genus are included 

 by the earlier writers in the genus Bacillus. Migula describes 

 about 77 species under this genus only one of which is known 

 to be of any pathogenic significance. The organisms belonging 

 to the pseudomonas are widely distributed in nature, having 

 been isolated from soil, water, and from the intestines of ani- 

 mals. 



PSEUDOMONAS PYOCYANEUS MIGULA. 



Synonyms. Bacillus pyocyaneiis Gessard ; Bacterium 

 wuginosum (Schroeter) ; bacillus of green or blue pus. 



Place in nature. This organism, which is the cause of 

 the occasional green or blue discoloration of surgical dressings, 

 was isolated by Gessard. 1 At first it was not thought to possess 

 any pathogenic properties and was considered as a saprophyte. 

 Ledderhose 2 studied it experimentally on animals but its 

 real etiological relation to definite morbid conditions was 

 pointed out by Charrin. 3 Lartigau 4 has studied it in its rela- 

 tion to an epidemic of dysentery in man. It has often been 

 found in the bacteriological examination of various lesions in 

 different species of animals. In rabbits, even when subcu- 

 taneous inoculation is resorted to, the systemic symptoms pre- 



1 Gessard. La pyocyanine, These de Paris, 1882. 



2 Ledderhose. Deutsche Zeit. f. Chirurgie, Bd. XXVIII (1888). 

 ! Charrin. La maladic pyocyanique. Paris, 1889. 



4 Lartigau. Jour of Exp. Med., Vol. Ill (1898) p. 595. 



