EXPERIMENTAL INFECTION 635 



and others invade the urethra and may either live symbiotically with the gonococcus 

 or altogether displace the latter. These secondary organisms may be the cause of 

 various complications of gonorrhoea, as for instance abscesses, suppurations, endo- 

 carditis. 



Though the gonococcus in many ways closely resembles the meningococcus 

 and the micrococcus catarrhalis, these three organisms constitute distinct 

 species. 



SECTION I. EXPERIMENTAL INFECTION. 



Symptoms and lesions in susceptible animals. Man. (a) Welander pro- 

 duced gonorrhoea in the human subject by inoculating pus containing the 

 gonococcus into the urethra. 



(6) Bumm inoculated a pure culture of the gonococcus into the urethra 

 of a woman and set up a typical attack of gonorrhoea which lasted 3 weeks ; 

 the pus from the urethra contained the gonococcus. 



(c) Bockhart inoculated into the urethra of a man in the last stages of 

 general paralysis a gelatin culture of the gonococcus. A typical attack of 

 gonorrhoea resulted which was followed by suppurative nephritis ; the 

 gonococcus was found in pus from the urethra and in the renal abscess. 



(d) Bokai inoculated pure cultures into the urethras of six students and 

 produced gonorrhoea in all of them. Brenner, Wertheim, Finger, 'Schlagen- 

 haufer, Keifer similarly all obtained positive results. 



Animals. Animals are not so susceptible to infection with the gonococcus 

 as man. Sub-cutaneous inoculation produces a transitory inflammation : in 

 one case Finger obtained a small abscess. 



Urethral inoculations in dogs, rabbits, horses and monkeys fail to produce 

 a clinical condition of gonorrhoea. Fonseca. however, by inoculating cultures 

 into the urethra of a rabbit produced a slight attack of gonorrhoea which only 

 lasted a week or 10 days. 



Legrain obtained a slight purulent conjunctivitis in guinea-pigs ; gonococci 

 were found within the pus cells. In young rabbits the gonococcus produces 

 a typical purulent conjunctivitis ; the organism however does not increase 

 in numbers but rapidly disappears from the ocular conjunctiva. The inflam- 

 mation is due to the toxin, since sterilized cultures give the same result 

 (Morax). 



By inoculating cultures into the joints of rabbits, Finger and Schlagenhaufer 

 caused an acute arthritis which very quickly passed off. 



By intra-uterine inoculation in female rabbits Malovski set up suppuration 

 of the Fallopian tubes with peritonitis which was fatal in 24 hours. 



Inoculation of very virulent cultures into the peritoneum of young guinea- 

 pigs may cause death from septicaemia (Morax). Pinto by inoculating large 

 doses of cultures into the peritoneal cavities of very young rabbits produced 

 a septicaemia with very great difficulty ; but after passage through a series of 

 rabbits the virulence of the organism was so increased that a dose of 0*000,02 c.c. 

 per kg. of animal weight was fatal. These researches have been confirmed 

 by Bruckner and Christeanu who have succeeded in considerably raising the 

 virulence of the gonococcus by passage through the peritoneal cavities of 

 rabbits and cats. 



SECTION II. MORPHOLOGY. 

 1. Microscopical appearance. 



The gonococcus occurs as small grains generally arranged in pairs and 

 having the appearance of two kidneys or haricot beans ; their long diameter 



