190 PATHOGENIC BACTERIA 



obstetrics, as gas-infection sometimes appears after 

 mechanical treatment within the uterus. It is prob- 

 ably not pathogenic to entirely healthy tissue, but 

 when an injury devitalizes a part an entrance is 

 afforded. It is responsible for the early bloating of 

 some cadavers. 



Bacillus of Malignant Edema. The bacillus of 

 malignant edema is a common inhabitant of the soil 

 and may be found in dust. It grows .only in the absence 

 of free oxygen, but may be cultivated with ease in 

 the laboratory, particularly if sugar be added to the 

 medium. It is a long, delicate rod, measuring about 

 odoo mcn in thickness and s ^ to 3 "^ inch in 

 length. It moves by flagella arranged along the sides. 

 Spores are formed about the middle of the length. 

 These spores are responsible for the great resistance 

 presented by the germ. The pathogenic properties 

 are due to a soluble separable toxin. The bacteria 

 themselves do not enter the blood stream. At the 

 site of inoculation an edematous and bloody swelling 

 appears which in susceptible individuals spreads 

 rapidly. Death results from toxemia. This germ is 

 frequently responsible for spontaneous disease in the 

 lower animals, but in man is probably only introduced 

 by some mechanical injury. It has been known to be 

 introduced by hypodermic injections when a dirty 

 needle was used. Its most common method of intro- 

 duction is in grinding dirt into a wound, such as a 

 compound fracture. All discharges or dressings should 

 be so received that they can be burned. 



Bacillus Proteus Vulgaris. The Bacillus proteus 

 vulgaris is a widely distributed organism of pro- 



