

CULTIVATION OF LEPROSY BACILLUS 311 



probably have been carried by leucocytes, but this position is, on 

 the whole, exceptional. They also occur in large numbers in the 

 lymphatic glands associated with the affected parts. In the 

 internal organs, liver, spleen, etc., when leprous lesions are 

 present, the bacilli are also found, though in relatively smaller 

 numbers. In the nerves in the anaesthetic form they are com- 

 paratively few, and in the sclerosed parts it may be impossible to 

 find any. There are few also in the skin patches referred to 

 above as occurring in this form of the disease. 



Their spread is chiefly by the lymphatics, though distribution 

 by the blood 



stream also oc- ~ \- 



curs. They are 



said to have been ./ ^ 



found in the blood 

 during the pres- |V"V 

 ence of fever and y 

 the eruption of * 



fresh nodules, and / t 



they have also 

 been observed in L^ ^ / ~ 

 the blood vessels I N " 

 post mortem, * ' 



chiefly contained ^1 v , j * L_ 



within leucocytes. 

 Recent observa- 

 tions (e.g., those 

 of Doutrelepont 

 and Wolters) 



show that the FIG. 92.- Kedrowski's leprosy bacillus ; pure 



bacilli may be culture on fish agar. 



more widely Carbol-fuchsin. xlOOO. 



spread through- 

 out the body than was formerly supposed. A few may be 

 detected in some cases in various organs which show no struc- 

 tural change, especially in the capillaries. The brain and spinal 

 cord are almost exempt, but in some cases bacilli have been 

 found even within nerve cells. 



Cultivation. Within recent years various observers have 

 claimed to have cultivated the bacillus of leprosy, but there 

 exists considerable discrepancy in the results obtained, and much 

 additional work is still necessary before a definite statement can 

 be made. Kedrowski cultivated an organism which in culture 

 appeared as a non-acid-fast diphtheroid, but which regained the 



