248 



BACTERIOLOGY OF THE EYE 



found the Siibtilis very freely in many cases of conjunctivitis in a 

 very dusty neighbourhood. In an acute conjunctivitis Pollock (loc. 

 cit.) found a mixture of the Koch-Weeks and the Siiltilix. Samperi 

 found the Subtilis as a casual in follicular conjunctivitis (cf. p. 272). 

 The cultural peculiarities of the bacillus which he grew showed a 

 very full agreement with those of the 

 Michalski and Silberschmidt organism. 

 The colonies which Michalski obtained 



FIG. 49. B. SUBTILIS, FROM A TRAUMATIC 



PANOPHTHALMITIS. AGAR PLATE 



COLONIES, x 30. 



FIG. 50. GELATINE STAB 



CULTURE, FROM PATHOGENIC 



SUBTILIS IN THE EYE. 



on agar had smooth, rounded edges, while those of Gourfein agreed 

 with the appearances in Fig. 49, which represents the cultures from 

 a splinter, which I obtained in a case of injury. According to Gourfein, 

 the clinical appearances of a Subtilis conjunctivitis varied between 

 those of an acute catarrh and those of a mild conjunctivitis. In six 

 cases the inflammation was unilateral. The duration under silver 

 treatment was six to eighteen days. On two occasions there was a 

 superficial corneal ulceration. Each of the seventeen cases observed 

 followed an injury. All the patients were country people. Five of 

 them were children, every one of whom had had a handful of earth 

 thrown in his face, and in the other cases the inflammation could be 

 referred to the introduction of earth. 



In five of his cases Gourfein could find particles of earth, containing 

 Subtilis bacilli; three times the organism was in a very virulent form. 

 Five times he found the Subtilis alone, three times along with Staph. 

 aureus, twice with Streptococci, and twice with Pneumococci. 



