PATHOGENIC STREPTOTHRIOES. 365 



to aaitnal or from animal to man. Inoculation of ani- 

 mals with pure cultures is usually negative, althougli 

 nodular formations have followed the injection of large 

 quantities into the peritoneal cavity of rabbits. In 

 Bostrom's cases the nodules presented only a few of lHc 

 club-shaped extremities of the threads, and there was 

 no evidence of multiplication of the fungus; while in 

 the experiments of Israel and Wolf it is said there 

 developed, in from four to seven weeks after intraperi- 

 toneal inoculation, larger and smaller tumors in which 

 typical mycelia were present, and from which the fungus 

 was obtained in pure culture. 



Steeptothkix Madue.e. — This organism is sup- 

 posed to be concerned in the causation of mycetoma or 

 Madura foot. Two varieties of mycetoma are known, 

 viz., the pale or ochroid and the black or melanoid. 

 Save for its occurrence in the foot, mycetoma is, patho- 

 logically speaking, almost a counterpart of actinomycosis ; 

 and the suspicion of their identity is by no means less- 

 ened by the fact that the streptothrix constantly asso- 

 ciated with the ochroid variety is to all intents and 

 purposes identical with streptothrix actinomyces. It 

 differs from that organism only in such minor details as 

 to leave little doubt that they are very closely related, 

 if not identical, so that a description of the one serves 

 equally to aid in the identification of the other. 



The investigations of Wright,^ conducted upon a case 

 encountered in Boston, point to another type of parasite 

 as the causative factor in the black mycetoma. Instead 

 of a streptothrix, Wright found a true mould. He ex- 

 presses the opinion that the pale mycetoma is, etiolog- 



1 Wright: "A Case of Mycetoma (Madura Foot)," Journal of Experi- 

 mental Medicine, 1898, vol. iii. p. 421. 



