122 INFECTIONS OF THE DIGESTIVE TRACT 



fused intravenously into a rabbit which was then promptly killed 

 and incubated for five hours at 37 C. On examination the 

 tissues gave a strong butyric acid odor. Liver soft, friable, and 

 filled with bubbles of gas. Smears from heart's blood show a 

 great abundance of bacteria of the capsulatus type. 



EXPERIMENT 5. One cubic centimeter of filtered faecal suspen- 

 sion from a patient with pernicious anaemia was infused intra- 

 venously into a rabbit which was then incubated for five hours 

 at 37 C. On examination the abdomen was slightly distended. 

 Characteristic butyric odor. Liver crepitant, contains a few ob- 

 vious gas bubbles. Bacilli of capsulatus type abundant in heart's 

 blood, in almost pure culture. Capsulati also abundant in liver. 



EXPERIMENT 6. Two cubic centimeters of filtered faecal suspen- 

 sion from a patient with pernicious anaemia whose faeces contained 

 a great abundance of free (capsulatus ?) spores were injected intra- 

 venously into a rabbit which was incubated at 37 C. for twenty- 

 four hours. At autopsy the animal was greatly distended with gas, 

 and bloody fluid was oozing freely from nose, mouth, etc. Gas 

 escaping from abdominal cavity burns with blue flame. Extremely 

 offensive odor of butyric decomposition. Tissues in advanced 

 state of putrefactive liquefaction. Blood from heart shows bacilli 

 of capsulatus type to be extremely abundant. Most of these were 

 Gram-positive and occurred characteristically in diplobacillus 

 form, but there were also many long threads which were doubtless 

 capsulati. Gram-negative forms also occur and of these one 

 variety was especially prominent. This was a long organism 

 bearing a large spore near either end. It is probably to be re- 

 garded as a young form of capsulatus about to undergo division 

 midway between the spores. This organism was Gram-negative. 



The foregoing experiments are typical of a large group 

 and show plainly enough the difference in capsulatus 

 activity in the case of material derived from normal 

 and pathological faeces. It appears to be true that a 

 ten per cent, suspension of faeces does not excite an active 

 formation of gas in the liver, if the material injected has 

 been derived from persons free from intestinal derange- 

 ments, and with scanty evidences of putrefactive pro- 



