BACILLUS TETANL 377 



were slight in extent, and no explanation whatever could be given of 

 their occurrence. The general association of the condition with the 

 presence of wounds, suggested that some infection took place through 

 the latter, but nothing, was known as to the nature of this infection. 

 Carle and Rattone in 1884 announced that they had produced the 

 disease in a number of animals by inoculation with material from a 

 wound in tetanus. They thus demonstrated the transmissibility of the 

 disease. An important paper by Nicolaier appeared in 1885. This 

 author infected mice and rabbits with garden earth, and found that 

 many of them developed tetanus. Suppuration occurred in the neigh- 

 bourhood of the point of inoculation, and in this pus, besides other 

 organisms, there was always present when tetanus had occurred, a 

 bacillus having certain constant microscopic characters as regards size 

 and staining reaction. Inoculation of fresh animals with such pus 

 reproduced the disease. Nicolaier's attempts 'at its isolation by the 

 ordinary gelatine plate culture method were, however, unsuccessful. 

 He succeeded in getting it to grow in liquid blood serum, but always 

 in mixture with other organisms. Infection of animals with such a 

 culture produced the disease. These experiments were evidently in- 

 complete, but were confirmed by Rosenbach, who produced the disease 

 in animals by inoculation, and noted the presence of the same bacillus. 

 Though he failed to obtain it in pure culture, he cultivated the other 

 organisms present, and inoculated them with negative results. He 

 further pointed out, as characteristic of the bacillus, its development 

 of terminal spores. In 1889, Kitasato succeeded in isolating from the 

 local suppuration of mice inoculated from a human case, several 

 bacilli, only one of which, when injected in pure culture into animals, 

 caused the disease, and which was now named the B. tetani. This 

 organism is the same as that observed by Nicolaier and Rosenbach. 

 Kitasato found that the cause of earlier culture failures was the fact 

 that it could only grow in the absence of oxygen. The pathology 

 of the disease was further elucidated by Faber, who, having isolated 

 bacterium-free poisons from cultures, reproduced the symptoms of the 

 disease. 



Bacillus Tetani. If in a case of tetanus naturally aris- 

 ing in man, there be a definite wound with pus formation 

 or necrotic change, the bacillus tetani may be recognised 

 in film preparations from the pus, if the characteristic spore 

 formation has occurred (Fig. 95). If, however, the tetanus 

 bacilli have not formed spores, they appear as somewhat 

 slender rods, without presenting any characteristic features. 

 There is usually present in such pus a great variety of other 

 organisms cocci and bacilli. The characters of the bacillus 

 are, therefore, best studied in cultures. It is then seen to 



