BACILLUS ANTHRACIS. 383 



other viscera. They will all be found to contain short 

 rods in large numbers. Nowhere can spore- formation 

 be detected. Upon microscopic examination of sections 

 of the organs which have been hardened in alcohol, the 

 capillaries are seen to be filled with the bacilli ; in some 

 places closely packed together in large numbers, at other 

 points fewer in number. Usually they are present in 

 largest numbers in those tissues having the greatest 

 capillary distribution and at those points at which the 

 circulation is slowest. They are moderately evenly dis- 

 tributed through the spleen. The glomeruli of the 

 kidneys and the capillaries of the lungs are frequently 

 quite packed with them. The capillaries of the liver 

 contain them in large numbers. (Fig. 84.) Hemor- 



FIG. 84. 



Anthrax bacilli in liver of mouse. X about 450 diameters. Bacilli stained 

 by Gram's method ; tissue stained with Bismarck-brown. 



rhages, probably due to rupture of capillaries by the 

 mechanical pressure of the bacilli which are developing 

 within them, not uncommonly occur. When this occurs 

 in the mucous membranes of the alimentary tract, the 

 blood may escape through the mouth or anus ; when in 

 the kidneys, through the uriniferous tubules. 



