150 TETANUS 



at 80 C. for one hour and allowed the spores which had withstood 

 this temperature to develop in an atmosphere of hydrogen. The high 

 temperature killed all the bacilli, both those of tetanus and other kinds 

 present, but did not destroy the tetanus spores. The bacillus is a 

 rod, from 2 to 4 microns long and from 0.3 to 0.5 of a micron broad. 

 It is feebly motile, carrying numerous flagellae and is often found 

 in chains. The bacilli develop terminal spores, spherical or oval bodies, 

 with a diameter larger than the breadth of the bacillus. This gives 

 to the spore-bearing orgainsm a drum-stick appearance. It is a 

 liquefying organism and takes the ordinary stains easily and distinctly. 

 It is strictly anaerobic, which accounts for the fact that the disease 

 develops most frequently in deep wounds with closed openings and 

 rarely in those in which the infecting material is freely exposed to 

 the air. Tetanus spores are among the most resistant forms of bac- 

 terial life. A splinter of wood bearing infected material may remain 

 a source of danger for many years. Direct sunlight kills the spores 

 within from two hours to many days, depending on the thickness of 

 the layer and the intensity of the light. They are destroyed by live 

 steam within five minutes; by 5 per cent, phenol after fifteen hours; 

 by mercury chlorid (1 : 1000) after three hours. 



Tetanus spores are widely and unevenly distributed over the earth. 

 In some localities 100 per cent, of animals inoculated with earth 

 develop the disease, while in other places such inoculations wholly 

 fail. As a rule the spores are most abundant in filthy soil, especially 

 that impregnated with manure. Before the days of aseptic surgery, 

 tetanus was especially prone to follow operative procedures as was 

 noted by Larrey, Napoleon's great surgeon, and many other operators 

 both in the field and in the hospital. Among certain primitive and dirty 

 people tetanus of the newly born is frequent on account of the methods 

 of cutting and dressing the cord. On certain islands, as Reunion and 

 Cayenne, the infantile death-rate from this cause has in some years 

 been as high as 50 per cent. In other localities tetanus works havoc 

 among women in the puerperal state. Some savage tribes smear 

 their arrowheads with mud rich in tetanus spores. The marked mortal- 

 ity from Fourth of July celebrations in this country a few years ago 

 was due to tetanus infection. Fortunately, the barbaric rites with 

 which we were accustomed to celebrate the birthday of our nation 



