5 QUATERCENTENARY STUDIES IN PATHOLOGY 



strated in the filtrates. On the other hand, if the bacillary bodies were 

 present, the cultures had a markedly toxic action. From this it must 

 be deduced that the toxin is bound to, or more probably contained 

 within, the bacillary bodies. Such toxins have an incubation period of 



6 - 8 hours, death usually occurring within 24 hours. The symptoms 

 are those of collapse and giddiness, and point to the action of a brain 

 and heart poison. The common effects of a bacterial disease are mani- 

 fested in the spleen, bone-marrow and liver, viz., fatty degeneration and 

 coagulative necrosis, The peritoneum is injected and may present small 

 haemorrhages, which may also occur in other organs. Kolle regards this 

 as the primary specific plague toxin, since in the human subject similar 

 effects are not infrequent. In animals which survive the acute toxic 

 effects marasmus may occur. 



In older cultures of from 7-10 days, where the growth has taken place 

 at 37° C, an increase in the toxicity of the filtrates, and in the character 

 of the resulting intoxication, can be determined, whereas the filtrates 

 from cultures at lower temperature produce effects similar to those 

 obtained from cultures i - 2 days old at 37° C. The older the culture, up 

 to a certain point, the higher is the toxicity. The cultures at 30° - 37° 

 C. reach their maximum toxicity in 3 - 4 weeks, whereas those at lower 

 temperatures require 8-10 weeks. 



The toxic action of the filtrates from the older cultures is characterised 

 by a shortening of the incubation period. Symptoms of intoxication 

 occur in 10-15 minutes, and in the case of the larger doses death may 

 occur in I - 2 hours. The most prominent of the symptoms produced by 

 these filtrates from old cultures are convulsions, from which the animals 

 may recover. These effects are produced by non-specific substances of 

 the nature of cadaverin and putrescin, which have also been demonstrated 

 in old cultures of B. pyocyaneus, B. typhosus and B. cholerae. Associ- 

 ated with these substances, however, there are present in the old cultures 

 specific toxins which may or may not be identical with those occurring 

 in young cultures. 



Kolle holds that the specific toxic substances originate not from a 

 secretory process on the part of the bacillus, but are produced by the 

 death of the bacilli with subsequent soaking-out of the intrabacillary 

 toxin. 



Such intra-cellular toxins never give rise to the formation of anti- 



(118) 



