BACILLUS OF RHINOSCLEROMA 451 



species or not, can not at present be decided. The bacillus of Fried- 

 lander has been found in empyema fluid, in pericardial exudate (after 

 pneumonia), and in spinal fluid.' Isolated cases of Friedlander bacillus 

 septicemia have been described.^ Being occasionally a saprophytic 

 inhabitant of the normal intestuie, it has been believed to be etiologic- 

 ally associated with some forms of diarrheal enteritis. 



B. mucosus capsulatus is pathogenic for mice and guinea-pigs, less so 

 for rabbits. Inoculation of susceptible animals is followed by local in- 

 flammation and death by septicemia. If inoculation is intraperitoneal, 

 there is formed a characteristically mucoid, stringy exudate. 



The question of immimization against bacilU of the Friedlander 

 group is still in the stage of experimentation. Immunization with care- 

 fully graded doses of dead bacilli has been successful in isolated cases. 

 Speciflc agglutinins in immune serum have been found by Clairmont,^ 

 but irregularly and potent only against the particular strain used for 

 the immunization. 



OTHER BACILLI OF THE FRIEDLANDER GROUP 



Bacillus of Rhinoscleroma. — This bacillus, discovered by v. Frisch * 

 in 1882, is a plump, short rod, with roimded ends, morphologically 

 ahnost identical with Friedlander' s bacillus; it is non-motile and pos- 

 sesses a distinct capsule. Although at first described as Gram-positive, 

 it has been shown to be decolorized with this method of staining. Cul- 

 turally it is almost identical with B. mucosus capsulatus. It forms 

 sUmy colonies, has a nail-like appearance in gelatin stab cultures, and in 

 pepton solutions produces no indol. It differs from B. mucosus cap- 

 sulatus (Wilde ^) in forming no gas in dextrose bouillon, in producing 

 no acid in lactose bouillon, and in never coagulating milk. 



Pathogenicity. — The bacillus of rhinoscleroma is but moderately 

 pathogenic for animals delicately susceptible to the bacillus of Fried- 

 lander. Rhinoscleroma, the disease produced by this bacillus in man, 

 consists of a slowly growing granulomatous inflammation, located usu- 

 ally at the external nares or upon the mucosa of the nose, mouth, 

 pharynx, or larynx. It is composed of a number of chronic, hard, 

 nodular swellings, which, on histological examination, show granulation 

 tissue and productive inflammation. In the meshes of the abundant 



^ Jdger, Zeit. f. Hyg., xix. 2 Howard, Johns Hopkins Hosp. Bull., 1899. 



' Clairmonl, Zeit. f. Hyg., xxxix. ■■ v. Frisch, Wien. med. Woch., 1882. 

 ' Wilde, Cent. f. Bakt., xx, 1896. 



