SUPPURA TION. 1 6 1 



into small flasks of slightly acid bouillon, allowed to 

 grow for three weeks, then reinoculated with Bacillus 

 prodigiosus, allowed to grow for ten or twelve days at 

 the room-temperature, well shaken up, poured into bottles 

 of about f sss capacity, and rendered perfectly sterile by an 

 exposure to from 50-60 C. for an hour. It is claimed 

 that the combined toxins of erysipelas and prodigiosus 

 are much stronger than the simple erysipelas toxin. The 

 best effects are found in cases of sarcoma, where the 

 toxin causes a rapid necrosis of the tumor tissue, which 

 can be scraped out with an appropriate instrument. 

 Numerous cases are on record in which this treatment 

 has been most efficacious; but, although Coley recom- 

 mends it and Czerny still upholds it, the majority of sur- 

 geons have failed to secure the desired results. 



Recently (1895) considerable attention has been be- 

 stowed upon the development of anti-streptococcus se- 

 rum, which is said to act specifically upon cases of strep- 

 tococcus-infection, both general and local. Numerous 



FIG. 50. Bacillus pyocyaneus, from an agar-agar culture; x 1000 (Itzerott 



and Niemann. 



and Niemann) 



cases are upon record in which the serum exerted a 

 beneficial action, though a case reported by Weatherly 

 11 



