322 GLANDERS 



pointed out by Straus, by a very rapid and semi-purulent 

 affection of the tunica vaginalis, shown during life by great 

 swelling and redness of the testicles, which changes may be 

 noticeable in two or three days, or earlier if material from man 

 has been used. This method of inoculation has been found of 

 service for purposes of cultivation and diagnosis. Rabbits are 

 less susceptible than guinea-pigs, and the effect of subcutaneous 

 inoculation is somewhat uncertain. Accidental inoculation of the 

 human subject with pure cultures of the bacillus has in more than 

 one instance been followed by the acute form of the disease and 

 a fatal result. 



Mayer has found that when the glanders liacillus is injected along 

 with melted butter into the peritoneum of a guinea-pig, it shows 

 filamentous, branching, and club-shaped forms ; in other words, it 

 presents the characters of a streptothrix. Lubarsch, on the other hand, 

 in a comparative study of the results of inoculation with acid-fast and 

 other bacilli, found none of the above characters in the case of the 

 glanders bacillus (cf. Tubercle, p. 274). 



Action on the Tissues. From the above facts it will be seen 

 that in many respects glanders presents an analogy to tubercle 

 as regards the general characters of the lesions and the mode 

 of spread. When the tissue changes in the two diseases are 

 compared, certain differences are found. The glanders bacillus 

 causes a more rapid and more marked inflammatory reaction ; 

 there is more leucocytic infiltration and less proliferative change. 

 Thus the centre of an early glanders nodule shows a dense 

 aggregation of leucocytes, most of which are polymorpho-nuclear, 

 whilst in the central parts many show fragmentation of nuclei 

 with the formation of a deeply staining granular detritus. And 

 further, the inflammatory change may be followed by suppura- 

 tive softening of the tissue, especially in certain situations, such 

 as the subcutaneous tissue and lymphatic glands. The nodules, 

 therefore, in glanders, as Baumgarten puts it, occupy an 

 intermediate position between miliary abscesses and tubercles. 

 The diffuse coagulutive necrosis and caseation which are so 

 common in tubercle do not occur to the same degree in glanders, 

 and typical giant-cells are not formed. The nodules in the lungs 

 show infiltration of leucocytes, with karyorrhexis, and thickening 

 of the alveolar walls, whilst the adjacent vesicles are filled with 

 catarrhal cells ; there may also be fibrinous exudation, whilst at 

 the periphery of the nodules connective-tissue growth is present 

 in proportion to their age. The tendency to spread by the 

 lymphatics is always a well-marked feature, and when the bacilli 



