THE BACTERIA IN SURGICAL LESIONS. 181 



which occur in dressing the wound (the pressure 

 and manipulations which it was formerly custom- 

 ary to resort to), a rent being produced, the infec- 

 tious agent will be able to penetrate into the 

 blood current or into the lymphatics, and the door 

 will thus be opened to local or general compli- 

 cations. 



As a local complication, we should cite, above 

 all, Vabces de voisinage. If the presence of bac- 

 teria in the pus of spontaneous abscesses is still 

 under discussion, all observers are agreed as to 

 their presence in secondary purulent collections. 

 Bouloumie has taught us that in pus coming from 

 abscesses developed in the parts in the vicinity of 

 a wound, whatever may be its extent and depth, 

 we may verify the presence of all the micro- 

 organisms found in the pus of the wound, or cer- 

 tain ones only, according as the abscess is developed 

 in parts continuous with or contiguous to the tis- 

 sues of the wound. There is then no doubt i^iat, 

 in this case, these elements are absorbed, or at least 

 find their way through the veins or lymphatics. 

 The inflammatory action of micro-organisms, thrown 

 thus into the midst of healthy tissues, even of those 

 which become inflamed with the most difficulty, is 

 easy to demonstrate. 



The following unpublished experiments upon 

 this point have been communicated to us by our 

 friend Dr. Louis Jullien : — 



Experiment 1. — Having gathered some dust in the 

 surgical wards at Lyons, I put it in a flask of distilled 

 water. At the end of some days I had thus given rise 



