BACILLUS BOTULINUS. 337 



Special Demonstration and Culture Methods. 



The demonstration of the tetanus bacillus in the scanty 

 secretion of wounds, usually cemented over, in tetanus 

 patients may be difficult. In the first place, the wound 

 secretion, which is scraped out, is examined in microsco- 

 pic preparations for polar spores, whose demonstration 

 under these circumstances may be looked upon as fairly 

 certain proof of tetanus. In the second place, and it is 

 never to be omitted, one inoculates a little of the secretion, 

 but especially fragments and splinters of any foreign 

 bodies found in the wound, into mice (p. 335), and 

 finally an effort is made to cultivate the tetanus bacillus 

 by means of anaerobic sugar-agar plates. Kitasato has 

 recommended a preliminary heating for half an hour at 80 

 to get rid of spore-free, disturbing organisms; yet the viru- 

 lence of tetanus spores is easily injured thereby. Heating 

 to 60 -65 for ten minutes is sufficient to kill all spore- 

 free contaminations. 



Related Varieties. Tavel (C. B. xxm, 538) has 

 described as Bacillus pseudotetanus Tavel a bacillus 

 very similar to the tetanus bacillus, which is sluggishly 

 motile, presenting only 8-16 flagella (tetanus, 50-100!), 

 and which is found in the human intestine. It is a strict 

 anaerobe and is not pathogenic for animals. Tavel is in- 

 clined, with Roux, to ascribe to the organism a significance 

 in the causation of appendicitis and peritonitis. 



Zimmermann (i, 50) describes his Bac. gracilis Zim. 

 as a non-motile, facultative anaerobic bacillus with polar 

 spores, which grows upon plates like the Bac. tetani. 



Bacillus botulinus. van Ermengem. (Z. H. xxvi, i.) 



Further Literature. Brieger and Kempner (C. B. XXII, 765), Mari- 

 nesco, Kempner and Pollack (C. B. xxiv, 899), Kempner and Schepi- 

 lewsky (Z. H. xxvn, 213). 



Vigorous rods, 4-9 p. long, 0.9-1.2 n thick, sluggishly 

 motile because of 4 to 9 flagella. Does not stain by Gram's 

 method. Spores are usually polar. Sporulation is not 

 interfered with by the presence of sugar in the nutrient 

 medium. 



In sugar-gelatin plates the colonies, according to v. Er- 

 22 



