636 INFECTION AND IMMUNITY. 



has been observed in South American States and 

 in California was formerly considered as a proto- 

 zoic infection, but Ophiils and Moffitt have shown 

 that this disease also is caused by a fungus which 

 has many points of similarity with the organisms 

 of local and systemic blastomycosis. 



The number of observed cases of systemic blas- 

 tomycosis has increased greatly of late. Twenty- 

 four have been reported, and of these 18 or 

 19 are known to have proved fatal; three appear 

 to have recovered spontaneously or under treat- 

 ment, especially with potassium iodid or cop- 

 per sulphate (Be van). That the disease has often 

 been passed over for systemic tuberculosis seems 

 very probable (one such case is known), and that 

 it is much more common than usually supposed is 

 indicated by the recognition of five cases in the 

 wards of the Cook County Hospital (Chicago) by 

 Stober and others from June until January of 

 1907. 



Nature of In blastomvcetic dermatitis and systemic blas- 

 tomycosis, the fungi proliferate in the tissue by 

 budding, and are found chiefly in the intra-epi- 

 thelial and subcutaneous abscesses, and in the 

 granulation tissue, nodules and abscesses of inter- 

 nal organs. Their appearance in culture media 

 and their biologic properties are subject to consid- 

 erable variations, at one time growing as a mold, 

 at another time more like the typical oidium, and 

 again resembling some form of yeast. Eicketts 

 considers that the genus oidium is sufficiently 

 broad to include all the types which have been 

 described, and that the term blastomyces is too 

 narrow. He applies the name of Oiclionrycosis to 



