ASCOMYCETES EUASCI ASPERGILLUS 263 



Mohler and Buckley in the report of the Bureau of Animal Industry. Hughes 

 Bennett reported a case in the sputum of a tubercular patient, and, in 1847, 

 Sluyter reported definitely on the Aspergillus in the lungs of a human being. 

 Virchow in 1856 reported several cases. In 1879, Leber first described a pur- 

 ulent keratitis due to aspergillus infection. Drs. Mohler and Buckley, in re- 

 ferring to the observations on pneumomycosis, say : 



Dieulafoy, Chantemesse, and Widal, reported their observations and studies of pneu- 

 monomyccsis as it occurs in a certain class of men in Paris. These men feed thousands 

 of young pigeons daily by taking into their mouths a mixture of grain and water which 

 they force into the mouths of the birds much in the same way that the old pigeons feed 

 their young. It had been a matter of common observation that these men were sufferers 

 from a severe pulmonary disorder; but when their sputum was examined, instead of finding 

 tubercle bacilli, only the threads of mycelia were detected. This observation was subse- 

 quently confirmed by Renon and other investigators. Until this time it had been held that 

 the presence of fungi in the lung tissue was of secondary importance, but these observations 

 dispelled further argument. Experiments on animals in which they were made to inhale 

 the spores, were successful in producing the disease; thus it was that the natural infection 

 was proved. 



Renon, who made an exhaustive study of the subject, concludes as follows 

 concerning aspergillosis : 



1. That aspergillosis is a spontaneous disease affecting the bronchi and lungs of birds 

 and animals, and creating in the animals a generalized affection similar to hemorrhagic 

 septicemia; that it develops in eggs in incubation and may contaminate the embryos con- 

 tained therein. 



2. The disease may be transmitted experimentally. The botanical and cultural char- 

 acters of the fungus and the lesions it provokes are truly specific. In its pathogenic action 

 it bears a strong resemblance to tubercle bacillus. 



3. In man it develops upon the cornea or skin, but has its particular evolution in the 

 respiratory apparatus, creating pulmonary mycosis, resembling tuberculosis, and pulmonary 

 gangrene, but without the fetid odor. It may coexist with tuberculosis. Occasionally it 

 is fatal after the formation of cavities in the lungs. It may invade the bronchial apparatus 

 alone, causing membranous bronchitis of special form and of long duration. 



4. In all its manifestations Aspergillus fumigatus may play a primary or secondary 

 role in both man and animals. It is not, therefore, a simple saprophyte, but a true 

 parasite. 



Renon points out the relation of the occupation of man to his contracting 

 the disease. When animals and men are kept where the mould is common, as 

 in hair assorting establishments where rye is used to disentagle the hair, they 

 become affected with the disease. The handling of dusty grain and feeds may 

 lead to infection from Aspergillus. Saxer also went into historical details 

 giving his experiments with mycosis in man. In 1857 Aspergillus was observed 

 by Rivolta in the pharyngeal abscess of a horse. Gotti observed it in an auric- 

 ular catarrh of a dog. Pech observed mycotic pneumonia in seven horses, 

 where they had been fed mouldy hay. Several cases where the Aspergillus 

 occurred in the trachea of cows have also been reported. Pearson and Ravenel 

 record a case of pneumomycosis of the lung of a cow. 



Infection takes place generally by the inhalation of the spores. The spores 

 germinate in the bronchial branches, develop a mycelium and produce conidio- 

 phores and spores on the surface. Drs. Mohler and Buckley, calling attention 

 to the various aspergilli which have been found, say: 



Numerous experiments have been tried with the various fungi, especially in relation 

 to the best temperatures for their development and fructification, and it has been found 

 that, although a few are able to germinate in the bronchioles, the Aspergillus fumigatus 

 about the only one which develops a vigorous growth there and fructifies, the temperature 

 of the human body seeming to be quite suitable for this species. Most of the other molds 

 develop at a much lower temperature and are therefore usually harmless even if introduced 



