BACTEEIOLOGICAL STUDY OF SYPHILIS. 245 



fering from syphilis, and insists that in spite of the discovery of the 

 bacillus of smegraa they must be regarded as the cause of syphilis. 



Zeissi (" Untersuchungen uber den Lustgarten'schen Bacillus in 

 Syphilisproducten und Secreteu derselben," Wiener med. Presse, 

 1885, No. 48) examined sections from nine cases of initial sclerosis 

 for bacilli, and found them present only in one, and in this one, 

 only two were to be seen. Baumgarten readily detected Lustgar- 

 ten's bacillus in a specimen taken from a hard chancre by resorting 

 to De Giacomi's method of staining after he had failed in numerous 

 instances with Lustgarten's method. 



Haberkorn claims to have found in the blood of syphilitic 

 patients a microorganism which he describes as a round, oval, or 

 short cylindrical-shaped spore of darkened color, 0.001 to 0.002 

 millimetre in diameter, which is also found in close proximity, or 

 adherent to white blood-corpuscles. He also claims to [have 

 cultivated this microbe. 



Marcus (These de Paris, Anncdes de Derm, et Syph., 1885) dis- 

 covered another microbe which he believed to be the cause of 

 syphilis. He found in syphilitic lesions cocci arranged in groups 

 of from six to seven, which could be readily stained with gentian- 

 violet. They resist the action of alcohol, and are easily deprived of 

 their color in acidulated alcohol. He made successful cultivations, 

 but his inoculation experiments yielded only negative results. 



Another bacillus which was supposed to be the cause of syphilis 

 was described by Eve and Liugard (On a Bacillus Cultivated 

 from the Blood and from Diseased Tissues in Syphilis, 1886). 

 This bacillus contained spores and was readily cultivated. It 

 appeared in the form of rods somewhat variable in length, which 

 on staining showed that the different segments were unequally 

 stained. The most successful results in staining were obtained with 

 Humbolt-red, in aniline oil, and decolor ization in alcohol. Gram's 

 method was also found efficient, while Lustgarten's yielded only 

 negative results. The cultures grew upon solid blood serum or 

 hydrocele fluid and agar-agar. 



Disse and Taguchi (" Ueber das Coutagium der Syphilis," 

 Deutsche med. Wockenschrift, 1885, No. 48, and same, 1886, No. 

 14) examined the blood of patients suffering from secondary syphi- 

 lis, and found in it almost constantly cocci of one micromillimetre 

 in diameter, isolated, or in colonies between the blood corpuscles. 

 The cultures upon different nutrient media appeared as grayish- 

 white masses. All culture media with the exception of solid 

 blood serum were liquefied by them, and it is the first time that 

 we have an account of the liquefaction of agar-agar by microbes. 

 In the cultures the microbes appear in pairs which give them the 

 appearance of short rods with a light space in the middle at the 



