66 PATHOGENIC BACTERIA. 



do not remain in the blood, but are collected in the spleen 

 and the lymphatic glands; and not the least important 

 fact in favor of phagocytosis is that observed by Bardach, 

 that excision of the spleen diminishes the resistance to 

 infectious disease. 



Quinin also furnishes a therapeutic support to the 

 theory. It is known that quinin increases the destruc- 

 tion of leucocytes. Woodhead inoculated a number of 

 rabbits with anthrax, giving quinin to some of them. 

 Those which had received the drug died earliest a 

 result probably dependent upon the destruction of part 

 of the phagocytic army. 



Ruffer found that the "phagocytes evince a distinct 

 selective tendency between various kinds of organisms. 

 They will leave the bacillus of tetanus in order to seize 

 upon the Bacillus prodigiosus if simultaneously intro- 

 duced; also the streptococci in diphtheria for the Klebs- 

 Loffler bacilli. This is illustrated in the diphtheritic 

 membrane, where at the surface one can see leucocytes 

 taking in numbers of the bacilli, but leaving the strepto- 

 cocci almost untouched, with the immediate result that 

 streptococci are often found in the deeper parts of the 

 membrane, and with the remote result that secondary 

 abscesses occurring in the course of diphtheria are never 

 due to the bacillus of diphtheria, but to some other or- 

 ganism. ' ' 



Hankin and Hardy found that the three varieties of 

 leucocytes in the frog's blood play important parts in the 

 destruction of anthrax bacilli, this destructive process 

 being accomplished thus : 



1. The eosinophile cells are first to approach and swal- 

 low the bacteria. As this takes place the eosinophile 

 granules are seen to dissolve and act upon the bacteria. 



2. The hyaline cells take up the remains of the bac- 

 teria destroyed by the eosinophile leucocytes. 



3. The basophile cells come to the field loaded with 

 basophilic granules, supposed to be antidotal to the 

 poisons of the bacteria, surround the combatants, neu- 



