20 Veterinary Medicine. 



petechiated and serous effusions occur into the serous cavities. 

 The muscular substance of the heart and the endocardium are also 

 the seats of petechial extravasations. Unless in some protracted 

 cases the blood appears to be unaltered as regards its power of 

 taking up oxygen, or coagulating. 



Bacillus of Rouget. The germ of this disease is found in 

 small numbers only, in the blood and vascular tissues, but very 

 abundantly in the lymph glands, the spleen, the kidneys, and 

 the red marrow of the bone. It is also present in enormous 

 quantities in the urine and the bowel dejections, the former 

 (urine) offering a ready means of diagnosing the disease micros- 

 copically. 



The bacillus is i/a to 1.5/A long by o.i/a to o. 15/n broad, is non- 

 motile, and stains readily even in Gram's solution. They occur 

 either solitary or in pairs tending to unite at an angle. In old 

 artificial cultures chains of considerable length may be formed. 

 In the blood the bacillus is usually found in the leucocytes, as 

 many as 20 or more being often present in a single cell. In the 

 lymph networks of organs they also invade the leucocytes but 

 are found in free masses as well. The bacillus is anaerobic, but 

 facultative aerobic, its preference being manifestly for the absence 

 of oxygen. It is nonliquefying. In gelatine cultures no devel- 

 opment takes place on the surface, but along the line of puncture 

 a delicate cloud-like branching growth takes place which extends 

 horizontally in parallel masses from the central puncture. This 

 resembles but is not quite so delicate as that formed by the bacil- 

 lus of mouse septicaemia with which it is supposed to be identical. 

 It grows scantily on the surface of nutrient agar or blood serum, 

 but not at all on bouillon, in the bottom of which, however, it 

 forms a slight grayish white deposit. It does not grow on potato. 

 The bacillus sometimes shows refrangent granules which have 

 been supposed to be spores, but this idea appears to be negatived 

 by the ease with which its vitality is destroyed by heat and disin- 

 fectants. The thermal death point is 68°C. (i37°F. ) maintained 

 for 10 minutes (Sternberg). Boulton found that it was killed in 2 

 hours by mercuric chloride (1:10000), by carbolic acid solution 

 (1:100), and by sulphate of copper solution (1:100). 



It is killed by desiccation, by quick lime and by chloride of 

 lime. At a temperature of 18° to 27°F. it perished in 13 days. 

 In salted pork it lost vitality in one month. 



