RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS 691 



Blaxall 1 found in the synovial fluid, and occasionally in the 

 blood, a minute bacillus measuring 2 p. in length. It possessed 

 marked polar staining, was decolorised by Gram's method, and 

 could only be stained by prolonged (three to five days) immersion 

 in anilin methylene-blue. The organism can be cultivated on 

 agar, on serum, and in broth. In a clear broth, after three days, 

 minute shining, yellowish particles appear and increase in amount, 

 giving rise on shaking the flask to an appearance of " gold dust." 

 Inoculation experiments on animals failed. 



Poynton and Paine 2 isolated a diplococcus (f a form of their 

 I), rheumaticus) from an osteo- arthritic joint, which produced 

 arthritis, with osteo -arthritic changes, when injected intraven- 

 ously into rabbits. 



Crowe 3 has found a micrococcus of peculiar type in the urine 

 in many cases. It may be isolated on neutral-red egg medium, 

 and a vaccine prepared with it seems to be of service in treat- 

 ment. The organism is allied to the M . epidermidis and has been 

 named by Crowe M . deformam. 



KHINOSCLEROMA. A bacillus has been described in this 

 disease. It is a short rod, with rounded ends, encapsuled, and 

 frequently linked in pairs. The organism is non-motile, does 

 not stain by Gram's method, and forms on gelatin a whitish 

 growth without liquefaction like that of Friedlander's pneumo- 

 bacillus. Milk is not coagulated. The organism is slightly 

 pathogenic. It is doubtful if it is the causal agent. 



KINDERPEST. Simpson, Koch and Eddington described bacilli 

 in this disease, but Nicolle and Adil-Bey have found that the 

 virus passes through a porcelain filter, and the organism therefore 

 is probably ultra-microscopic. 



TRACHOMA. Various organisms have been observed in this 

 disease, e.g. a diplococcus by Sattler, gonococcal-like organisms 

 by Lindner and others (it is even suggested that the organism 

 may be an " involuted " gonococcus), the Koch- Weeks bacillus, 

 the Morax-Axenfeld diplobacillus and the pneumococcus. Minute 

 cell-inclusions, which may be demonstrated by the Giemsa 

 method, are present in the epithelial cells, regarded by Halber- 



1 Lancet, 1896, vol. i, p. 1120 (Bibliog.). 



2 Brit. Med. Journ., 1902, vol. i, p. 79. 



3 Lancet, i, 1913, p. 1377, and ii, 1913, p. 1460. 



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