286 MALIGNANT EDEMA 



MALIGNANT EDEMA 



§ 207. Characterization. Malignant edema is an acute, 

 wound infection disease of domesticated animals, which is es- 

 pecially characterized by edematous, later crepitating tumors 

 at the place of infection due to Bacillus oedematis maligni. 



§ 208. History. Crepitating tumors following wounds, 

 withdrawing of setons, castration, and the like have long been 

 known. It was pointed out by Girard in 1818, that creptita- 

 ing tumors in sheep could be caused by subcutaneous injection 

 of animal tissue taken from putrefying tissue. Chauveau 

 (1873) showed by experiments performed on goats that the 

 development of the disease stood in a close relation to living 

 organisms present in injected putrescent blood. Pasteur, in 

 1887, studied more closely the organism and named it Vibrion 

 septique. He obtained it in pure culture. Later Koch and 

 Gaffky (1881) studied exhaustively the disease caused through 

 contamination by contact with the ground, which they named 

 malignant edema. Since then Kitt, Jensen, Sand and Leclainche 

 have studied its bacteriology, while Jensen and Sand, v. Ratz, 

 Frohner, Carl and others have made valuable contributions to 

 the appearance of the malady among domesticated animals. 

 Malignant edema is a wide spread but not a common disease. 



§ 2og. Etiology. Maligant edema is caused by .5a«7/M5 

 oedematis maligni Koch ( Vibrion septique Pasteur). It is de- 

 scribed as a bacillus resembling that of anthrax, but somewhat 

 more slender, rod-shaped, and spore bearing. The ends are 

 rounded. It is an anaerobe. In artificial cultures as well as 

 in the animal body, after the death of the latter the bacilli 

 grow into long filaments. Exceptionally, living animals contain 

 the spore bearing bacilli in the edematous fluid (Jensen and 

 Sand). The bacilli stain very readily with aqueous aniline 

 dyes. In culture media containing sugar gases are formed, 

 which have a characteristic disagreeable odor. The inocula- 

 tion of a pure culture into the deep connective tissue of 

 mammals and birds produces a tumor quickly spreading from 



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