440 SPIRILLUM CHOLERA ASIATICS. 



observed, while in these animals after infection with comma 

 bacilli the enormous distension of the stomach and intestine 

 with fluid material shows a great transudation into the intes- 

 tine similar to that which occurs in man, and which leads to 

 excessive diarrhoea and vomiting. It must further be expressly 

 pointed out that the pathological anatomical alterations in the 

 organs, and more especially in the intestines of the animals, 

 correspond entirely with the appearances found in rapid and 

 uncomplicated cases of cholera ; extensive alterations, ulcera- 

 tions, and losses of substance are, according to the best 

 authors, not characteristic so much for pure acute cholera 

 cases as for cases in which the course is protracted and com- 

 plicated. It is perhaps possible that in the course of further 

 investigations means will be found to obtain a simpler and 

 more natural mode of infection in these or in more susceptible 

 animals. In any case it is right, bearing in mind the above 

 facts as to the immunity of animals from cholera, not to place 

 our expectations too high, but rather in the case of cholera 

 to assign a subordinate importance in the etiological proof to 

 the experiments on animals. 



Toxic effects Where large quantities of cholera cultivations are 

 cultivations employed toxic effects are produced in the animals. If 

 m large doses. p ure cultivations of the comma bacilli are injected into 

 the peritoneal cavity of rabbits or into the veins, or in 

 very large doses into the subcutaneous tissue, paralytic 

 weakness of the hinder extremities, slowing of the 

 respiration, and gastro-enteritis set in, and as a rule 

 death occurs after 1 to 3 hours ; where the material is 

 applied subcutaneously these results are inconstant ; at 

 times the animals recover after a few hours and then 

 remain well ; in the case of starving guinea-pigs a 

 similar intoxication occurs when the material is intro- 

 duced into the stomach, and in this case the toxic pro- 

 ducts seem to be absorbed with especial rapidity. Mice 

 also die after the injection of large doses into the peri- 

 toneal cavity. Nicati and Kietsch* were able to demon- 

 strate that cbolera cultivations when at least 8 days old 

 caused toxic effects even after nitration through a 

 Pasteur's filter ; in no case did fresh cultivations pro- 

 duce any effect. It must also be determined by further 

 experiments whether, and to what degree, this produc- 

 tion of poison is influenced by differences in tbe nutrient 



* Compt. rend., vol. 99, p. 123. 



