CHAPTEE XXIV. 

 THE PNEUMOBACILLUS OF FRIEDLANDEK. 



Introduction. 



Section I. Experimental inoculation, p. 416. 



Section II. Morphology, p. 416. 



Section III. Biological properties, p. 417. 



Section IV. Detection and isolation of the pneumobacillus, p. 418. 



The bacillus of rhinoscleroma, p. 418. 



The bacillus of ozsena, p. 419. 



THOUGH the pneumobacillus is not as Friedlander believed the infect- 

 ing agent in acute lobar pneumonia, it nevertheless occupies an important 

 place in human pathology and may be the cause of any of the following dis- 

 eases, viz. : broncho-pneumonia, pericarditis, pleurisy, peritonitis meningitis, 

 otitis, parotiditis, dacryocystitis, stomatitis, orchitis, and epididymitis ; and 

 is further responsible for many suppurative conditions. Ch. Nicolle and 

 Hebert have drawn attention to the fact that some cases of pseudo-mem- 

 branous sore throats are due to the pneumobacillus ; it is also associated at 

 times with the diphtheria bacillus ; and finally, it may occasionally cause 

 an hsemorrhagic type of septicaemia (Weichselbaum, Netter). 



It is present in the saliva of many persons (4 '5 per cent, according to 

 Netter). In the circumambient media the bacillus appears to be widely 

 distributed ; Uffelmann found it in the air, Emmerich in dust, Grimbert in 

 water, Besson in samples of water from many and various sources. 



No valid distinction can now be drawn between the pneumobacillus and 

 the bacillus described by Escherich as the Bacillus lactis aerogenes : the 

 proof of their identity was sketched by Denys and Martin and extended by 

 Grimbert and Legros. 1 These researches were confirmed by Bertarelli ; he 

 considered the Bacillus lactis aerogenes to be merely a variety of the pneumo- 

 bacillus. 



The Bacillus lactis aerogenes has been found in stools, in soil, water, and air. It 

 is one of the causes of the fermentation of milk and seems to be responsible for some 

 cases of enteritis in breast-fed children. It plays an important role in- urinary 

 infections (Morelle, Worsburg, Heyse, etc.). 



1 Without enlarging upon the facts which have led to the conclusion that the two 

 organisms are identical, the following characters which according to Grimbert and Legros 

 they possess in common may just be mentioned. They are both non-motile encapsulated 

 bacilli, do not liquefy gelatin, do not produce indol, ferment the same sugars and have 

 the same action upon animals. 



