MALIGNANT (EDEMA. 393 



of one of the glucose media with such material, and incubating 

 for forty-eight hours at 37 C. At the end of this period, 

 spore-bearing tetanus bacilli may be detected microscopically, 

 though of course mixed with other organisms. 



(c) Inoculation. Mice and guinea-pigs are the most suita- 

 ble animals. Inoculation with the material from a wound 

 should be made subcutaneously. A loopful of the discharge 

 introduced at the root of the tail in a mouse will soon give 

 rise to the characteristic symptoms, if tetanus bacilli are present. 



MALIGNANT (EDEMA (Septic/mie de Pasteur). 



The organism now usually known as the bacillus of malig- 

 nant oedema is the same as that first discovered by Pasteur and 

 named vibrion septique. He described its characters, distin- 

 guishing it from the anthrax bacillus which it somewhat resem- 

 bles morphologically, and also the lesions produced by it. He 

 found that it grew only in anaerobic conditions, but was able 

 to cultivate it merely in an impure state. It was more fully 

 studied by Koch, who called it the bacillus of malignant oedema, 

 and pointed out that the disease produced by it is not really of 

 the nature of a septicaemia, as immediately after death the 

 blood is practically free from the bacilli. 



"Malignant oedema" in the human subject is usually de- 

 scribed as a spreading inflammatory oedema attended with em- 

 physema, and ultimately followed by gangrene of the skin and 

 subjacent parts. In many cases of this nature the bacillus of 

 malignant oedema is present, associated with other organisms 

 which aid its spread, whilst in others it may be absent. One 

 of us has, however, observed a case in which the bacillus was 

 present in pure condition. Here there occurred intense oedema 

 with swelling and induration of the tissues, and the formation 

 of vesicles on the skin. Those changes were attended with a 

 reddish discoloration, afterwards becoming livid. Emphysema 

 was not recognisable until the limb was incised, when it was 

 detected, though in small degree. Further, the tissues had a 

 peculiar heavy but not putrid odour. The bacillus, which was 

 obtained in pure culture, was present in enormous numbers in 

 the affected tissues, attended by cellular necrosis, serious exu- 

 dation, and at places much leucocytic emigration. The picture, 



