346 BACTERIOLOGY OF THE EYE 



spindle-shaped clusters of bacilli between the corneal lamellae ; the 

 walls of the new-formed vessels were less invaded by bacilli than is 

 usually the case in the tubercular form. The changes in the iris were 

 less marked, but the ciliary body was very rich in bacilli, and was 

 atrophic. The bacilli passed from the ciliary body into the choroid, 

 which also obtained some bacilli through the sclera, and from there 

 they passed to the anterior part of the eye. In the posterior part of 

 the eye bacilli were only found in the optic nerve, and that structure 

 did not show any reaction. 



Nothing abnormal was found in the retina, optic nerve, and lens. 

 Bacilli were found in the lacrymal nerve and the ciliary nerves as they 

 passed through the orbit. 



Lie concluded from this case that in the pure maculo-ansesthetic 

 leper the bacilli could live and flourish for a long time. 



In this case, too, an endogenous origin was probable, as the pannus 

 began long after the onset of the disease. Jeanselme and Morax con- 

 firmed this view of the endogenous origin of leprosy in the eye. 



Francke accepts the view that the lepra ' cells ' which are diagnostic 

 in the" histology of the condition are not cells, but are the outflow 

 from the lymph vessels. He states, in agreement with Lie, that in 

 tuberculosis fewer bacilli are found in spite of the greater reaction, 

 and that exactly the reverse is the case in leprosy. 



Kobner, Damsch, and Vossius have made experimental inoculations 

 with leprous material of the eyes of rabbits (Rep. Heidel. Confer., 

 1884, p. 27). An exudation formed around the masses introduced, 

 and in it the lepra cells long remained, and were transferable to other 

 animals. In opposition to the others, Vossius maintained that in the 

 rabbit's eye the bacilli could certainly multiply and pass into the 

 surrounding tissues. He also reports having observed a gradual 

 spread of the bacilli into the cornea. 



Tuberculosis. 



We are not concerned with the various ways in which tuberculosis 

 can affect the eye. Points of bacteriological technique in the diagnosis 

 of the bacilli alone will be considered. In Europe tuberculosis is 

 much more important and more common in the eye than leprosy, and 

 the methods of its demonstration and its spread can be more shortly 

 put. The demonstration of the bacilli in this disease is not possible 

 in nearly so many cases, nor is it so easy ; and many cases of tuber- 

 culosis are diagnosed clinically and microscopically in which the 



