﻿IX. B, 4 Crowell: Diagnosis of Asiatic Cholera 365 



toneum with pink serosa of ileum, (5) contracted and empty 

 urinary bladder, (6) shrunken, dry spleen and liver, (7) acute 

 degeneration of parenchjonatous organs, (8) poorly coagulated 

 blood, (9) absence of formed faeces, (10) presence of rice-water 

 intestinal content, and (11) prominence of lymphoid tissue in the 

 ileum. 



After all the autopsies performed, we have placed ourselves 

 on record without knowledge of the bacteriological findings 

 except in a very few cases. The cases were classified as (1) 

 cholera, (2) not cholera, (3) probable cholera, or (4) possible 

 cholera. Comparison of the anatomical and bacteriological find- 

 ings shows that 5 cases anatomically negative were bacteriolog- 

 ically positive. Eleven of the probable cases were bacteriologi- 

 cally positive, while only 1 was negative. Three of the possible 

 cases were positive, while 4 were negative. For a correct inter- 

 pretation of these findings, it should be borne in mind that the 

 mere presence of cholera vibrios does not mean that the patient 

 was suffering from cholera. In 87 cases there was no difference 

 between the two findings. The cases which were found bacte- 

 riologically positive in which the pathologist had committed 

 himself to the diagnosis of not cholera were (1) beriberi, (2) 

 leukaemia and pulmonary tuberculosis, (3) bronchopneumonia 

 and post-mortem decomposition in a 17-day old child, (4) acute 

 peritonitis from strangulated inguinal hernia, and (5) general- 

 ized tuberculosis. 



The other cases in which the bacteriological findings were 

 negative whereas they had been called probable or possible 

 cholera by the pathologist were cases of acute enteritis, and 

 the suspicion was and is deemed justifiable at a time when 

 cholera is epidemic. 



