288 BACILLI PATHOGENIC IN MAN. 



cannot accept the identity of pigeon diphtheria with human 

 diphtheria ; the almost constant presence of numerous bacilli 

 in the internal organs, and more especially in the kidneys of 

 the animals experimented on, when contrasted with the nega- 

 tive results obtained in man, seem to show that the disease 

 caused by Emmerich's bacilli differs in an important manner 

 from human diphtheria ; as to the distribution of his bacilli 

 in sections of human diphtheritic membrane, Emmerich 

 makes no statements, although it must surprise the reader 

 that Emmerich has obtained such markedly contradictory 

 results to those obtained by Loeffler in his careful investi- 

 gation, and that he has assigned to other bacteria which were 

 not at all thought of importance by Loeffler, a greater 

 role than Loeffler's streptococci and bacilli. It is possible 

 that the method employed by Emmerich, which is one by no 

 means to be recommended, led to erroneous conclusions. 

 Emmerich introduced pieces of mucous membrane and par- 

 ticles of the false membrane into nutrient substrata, allowed 

 impure cultivations to grow, and then at once inoculated 

 these on animals, with the view of separating the pathogenic 

 from the non-pathogenic bacteria. By this mode of procedure 

 it was almost unavoidable that septic bacteria which are 

 almost always present in the secretions of the mouth, and in 

 diphtheritic membranes, should infect the animals, and thus 

 obscure the true diphtheritic bacteria. 



The following bacilli, which are pathogenic on man, 

 are only imperfectly known, and require further investi- 

 gation : 



Sypliilis. 



Lustgrarten's During the course of the last few years numerous 

 Sacilli? authors (Hallier, Lostorfer, Klehs, Aufrecht, Birch- 



Hirschfeld, and others) have made statements which are 

 evidently erroneous as to the discovery of the infective 

 agents of syphilis, but lately Lustgarten has succeeded in 

 demonstrating micro-organisms in the syphilitic new for- 

 mations, by the aid of a special method of staining. These 

 organisms may with considerable probability be looked 

 on as the specific infective agents of syphilis, on account 

 of their characteristic behaviour with regard to staining 

 solutions, on account of their constant presence, and on 



