LEPROSY AND SYPHILIS. 



CHAPTER XII. 

 LEPROSY AND SYPHILIS. 



LEPROSY. 

 Bacillus Leprae. 



History. The specific cause of leprosy is a bacillus known 

 as the Bacillus leprce, discovered by Hansen, and confirmed by 

 Neisser, in 18/79. 



The bacillus is found a. in the tissues of leprous patients, 

 and 6. in the secretions, with the exception of the urine. It 

 has never been found in the blood. 



Morphology. The bacilli are small straight rods with 

 pointed ends, sometimes curved, measuring from 5 to 6 mi^ 

 krons in length, non-motile, resembling very much the tubercle 

 bacillus, but are more uniform in length and not so frequently 

 bent. When stained, their protoplasm shows unstained spaces 

 similar to those of the tubercle bacillus, which are regarded 

 by some as spores. 



Biology. Bordoni-Uffreduzzi claims to have cultivated the 

 bacillus through a number of generations in glycerinized gela- 

 tin. Byron (Researches Loomis Laboratory, 1892) made a 

 pure culture of the bacillus on agar. 



From the secretions and scrapings obtained from an ulcer 

 of the nares in a leper the author found upon examination a 

 great many bacilli lying in cells, some cells containing as 

 many as 3 or 4 bunches, and was able to procure a pure 

 culture on Loeffler's blood-serum and glycerin-agar. 



The growth upon the serum very much resembled a twisted 

 band of yellowish-gray color, and developed very rapidly at 

 37 C. Cultures in bouillon and potato did not develop. 



Ross, of the British Army Medical Corps, described a 

 method of obtaining a salt-free bouillon in which he claimed 

 he was able to obtain mass cultures of B. leprae. 



Duval, by means of a lower temperature and free access of 



