INFECTION AND INTOXICA TION 85 



abolic products causes irreparable damage in remote 

 organs. This is well illustrated in diphtheria, where 

 a limited growth of the Klebs-Lofner bacillus upon 

 a mucous membrane is attended with the absorp- 

 tion of a powerful poisonous product that depresses the 

 heart and brings about degenerations in the nervous 

 and other tissues. Tetanus is another micro-organism of 

 the same class, whose powers of growth in the animal 

 body seem to be so feeble that in many cases (especially 

 of experimental infection of the lower animals) no local 

 lesion can be detected, yet by a very limited number of 

 bacilli sufficient toxin may be manufactured to kill the 

 animal by cramp asphyxia. 



Infection by other micro-organisms is characterized by 

 ready growth in the lymphatics and capillaries, and at the 

 time of death they are found in the blood and in all the 

 tissues. Among these organisms we find many of the 

 septicemias of the lower animals, such as anthrax, mouse 

 septicemia, rabbit septicemia, swine plague; and a few 

 of man, as anthrax, plague, relapsing fever, etc. 



Taking the typical characteristics of the micro-organ- 

 ismal invasion, and willingly conceding that the opera- 

 tions of the bacteria are not restricted to the method of 

 infection suggested by the name of its class, I have pro- 

 posed the division of bacteria into three groups: 



1. Phlogistic — chiefly characterized by local irritation. 



2. Toxic — characterized by local growth and toxin dis- 

 semination. 



3. Septic — whose chief field of activity is in the blood 

 and lymphatic fluids. 



In all these forms the actual damage done seems to be 

 dependent upon the formation of poisonous products. If 

 these are insoluble or soluble with difficulty, their inju- 

 rious effects must be manifested upon the cells with 

 which they come in direct contact, and hence will be 

 most obvious in the particular area in which the bacteria 

 are actively growing. This form of irritation is well il- 

 lustrated in the case of two familiar infections : first, the 



