MICROSPIRA COMMA 561 



or fifteen minutes later this was to be followed by the injec- 

 tion into the stomach (also through a soft catheter) of 

 10 c.c. of a bouillon culture of microspira comma. For the 

 purpose of arresting peristalsis and permitting the bacteria 

 to remain in the stomach and upper part of the duodenum 

 for as long a time as possible, the animal was to receive, 

 immediately following the injection of the culture, an 

 intraperitoneal injection, by means of a hypodermic syringe, 

 of 1 c.c. of tincture of opium for each 200 grams of its 

 body-weight. Shortly after this last injection deep narcosis 

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

 animal is as lively as ever. Of 35 guinea-pigs inoculated 

 in this way by Koch, 30 died of an affection that was, 

 in general, very similar to Asiatic cholera as seen in 

 man. 



The condition of those animals before death is described 

 as follows: twenty-four hours after the operation the animal 

 appears unwell; there is loss of appetite, and the animal 

 remains quiet in its cage. On the following day a paralytic 

 condition of the hind extremities appears, which, as the 

 day wears on, becomes more pronounced; the animal lies 

 quite flat upon its abdomen or on its side, with 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. 

 The animal usually dies after remaining in this condition 

 for a few hours. 



At autopsy the small intestine is found deeply injected 

 and filled with flocculent, colorless fluid. The stomach and 

 intestines do not contain solid masses, but fluid; when 

 diarrhea does not occur, firm scybala may be detected in 

 the rectum. Both by microscopic examination and by cul- 

 36 



