RELATION" TO INFECTIOUS DISEASES. 87 



still possssses the bright-red color of oxy-hsemoglobin. 

 ToEPPER and Roloff reported cases of apoplectiform 

 anthrax in wiiich thei"e was no difficulty in respiration. 

 TousSAiNT caused animals which had been inoculated with 

 the anthrax bacillus to breathe air containing a large 

 volume of oxygon, and found that this did not modify the 

 symptoms or retard death. Finally, Nencki determined 

 the amount of physiological oxidation going on in the bodies 

 of animals sicli with anthrax by estimating the amount of 

 phenol excreted after the administration of one gramme of 

 benzol, and found that the oxidation of the benzol was not 

 diminished by the disease. Thus, the theory that germs 

 destroy life by depriving the blood of its oxygen has been 

 found not to be true for anthrax, and if not true for 

 anthrax, certainly it cannot be for any other known disease. 

 The bacillus anthracis is, as has been stated, aerobic, while 

 most of the pathogenic bacteria are anaerobic — that is, they 

 live in the absence of oxygen. This element is not neces- 

 sary to their existence, and, indeed, when present in large 

 amount, it is fatal to them. Moreover, in many diseases, 

 tlie bacteria are not found in the blood at all. Lastly, the 

 symptoms of these diseases are not those of asphyxia. These 

 facts have caused all bacteriologists to acknowlege that this 

 theory is not the right one. 



2. If a properly stained section of a kidney taken from 

 a guinea-pig, which has been inoculated with the bacillus 

 anthracns, be examined under a microscope, the bacilli will 

 be found to be present in such large numbers that they form 

 emboli, which not only close, but actually distend the capil- 

 laries and larger bloodvessels, and interfere with the normal 

 functions of the organ. A similar condition is sometimes 

 found on microscopical examination of the liver, spleen, 

 and lungs. From these appearances, it was inferred by 

 Bollinger that the bacilli produce the diseased condition 

 simply by accumulating in large numbers in these impor- 

 tant organs, and mechanically interrupting their functions. 

 This is known as the mechanical interference theory. 



Klebs and Toussaint were formerly ardent advocates 

 of this theory in its application to anthrax, and the latter 



