ACTINOMYCETES 467 



When pure cultures are injected into either the circulation 

 or the peritoneal cavity of guinea-pigs, death ensues in 

 from nine to twenty days. The autopsy reveals diffuse 

 pseudotuberculosis of the omentum. Within the pseudo- 

 tubercles the organism is seen as long, branching threads, 

 often matted together as a true mycelium. 



By subcutaneous inoculation only the neighboring lymph- 

 glands are affected. 



The disease farcin des bceufs is said to be more common 

 in Guadeloupe than elsewhere. 



Actinomyces Eppingeri. This organism was discovered by 

 Eppinger in an abscess of the brain. He regarded it as a 

 cladothrix, and gave to it the designation cladothrix aster- 

 oides. It grows well in pure culture under artificial con- 

 ditions, and is pathogenic for animals. In the case studied 

 by Eppinger the organism was present not only in the 

 abscess, but also in the meninges of the brain and cord and 

 in the bronchial and supraclavicular lymph glands. There 

 is no doubt of its causal relation to the conditions. 



In pure culture it grows well on ordinary media. It 

 appears as long, branching threads, many of which are com- 

 posed of short quadratic segments. Spores are not formed. 

 Motility is doubtful; it has been observed by Eppinger, 

 while Lehmann and Neumann failed to detect it. It stains 

 both by the ordinary dyes and by the method of Gram. It 

 grows scarcely, if at all, under anaerobic conditions. It 

 grows at room-temperature, but much better at the tem- 

 perature of the body. The best growth is observed on 

 nutrient agar-agar containing 2 per cent, of glucose. The 

 colonies on the surface of glucose-agar-agar appear as 

 yellowish-white, round, finely granular, dull patches that are 



