SPIE1LL UM OF ASIATIC CHOLERA. 343 



animals : Bearing in mind the point made by Nicati and 

 Rietsch as to the effect produced by the acid reaction of 

 the gastric juice, this reaction was first to be neutralized 

 by injecting through a soft catheter passed down the 

 oesophagus into the stomach, 5 c.c. of a 5 per cent, solu- 

 tion of sodium carbonate. Ten or fifteen minutes later 

 this was to be followed by the injection into the stomach 

 (also through a soft catheter) of 10 c.c. of a bouillon cul- 

 ture of the cholera spirillum. For the purpose of arrest- 

 ing peristalsis and permitting the organism to remain in 

 the stomach and upper part of the duodenum for as long 

 a time as possible, the animal was to receive, immedi- 

 ately following the injection of the culture, an intra- 

 peritoneal injection, by means of a hypodermic syringe, 

 of 1 c.c. of tincture of opium for each 200 grammes of 

 its body weight. Shortly after this last injection a deep 

 narcosis sets in and lasts from a half to one hour, after 

 which the animal is again as lively as ever. Of 35 

 guinea-pigs inoculated in this way by Koch, 30 died of 

 a condition that was, in general, very similar to that 

 seen in Asiatic cholera. 



The condition of these animals before death is de- 

 scribed as follows: Twenty-four hours after the opera- 

 tion the animal appears sick; there is a loss of appetite, 

 and the animal remains quiet in its cage. On the fol- 

 lowing day a paralytic condition of the hind extremities 

 appears, which, as the day goes on, becomes more pro- 

 nounced ; the animal lies quite flat upon its abdomen or 

 on its side, with its legs extended ; respiration is weak 

 and prolonged, and the pulsations of the heart are hardly 

 perceptible ; the head and extremities are cold, and the 

 body temperature is frequently subnormal. 



