334 Suppuration 



Lartigau,* in his study of "The Bacillus Pyocyaneus as a Factor 

 in Human Pathology," sums up what is known about this r61e of 

 the organism as follows: 



" The Bacillus pyocyaneus, like many pathogenic micro-organisms, is occasion- 

 ally found in a purely saprophytic r61e in various situations in the human 

 economy. It has been found in the saliva by Pansini, in sputum by Frisch, 

 and in the sweat by Eberth and Audanard. Abelous demonstrated its presence 

 in the stomach as a saprophyte. Its existence in suppurating wounds has 

 long been known, and Koch early detected its presence in tuberculous cavities, 

 regarding it as an organism incapable of playing any pathologic r61e. The 

 etiologic relation of the organism to certain cases of purulent otitis media in 

 children was pointed out by Martha, Maggiora and Gradenigo, Babes, Kossel, 

 and others. H. C. Ernst obtained it from a pericardial exudate during life. 

 G. Blumer demonstrated its presence in practically pure cultures in a case 

 of acute angina simulating diphtheria; Jadkewitsch, B. Motz, and Le Noir 

 obtained the bacillus in cases of urinary infection. The cases of Triboulet, 

 Karlinski, Oettinger, Ehlers, and Barker are interesting instances of its r61e in 

 cutaneous lesions. 



"In addition to these lesions, other morbid processes have been associated in 

 some cases with the bacillus of blue pus, such as meningitis and bronchopneu- 

 monia, by Monnier; diarrhea of infants,by Neumann, Williams, Thiercehn and 

 Lesage, and other observers; dysentery, by Calmette and by Lartigau; and 

 general infection, by Ehlers, Neumann, Oettinger Karlinski, Monnier, Krannhals, 

 Calmette, Finkelstein, and L. F. Barker." 



Nine additional cases of human infection are reported by Perkins, f 

 Immunity.- — Immunity against pyocyaneus infection develops 

 after a few inoculations with attenuated or sterilized cultures. 

 These are easily prepared, the thermal death-point determined by 

 Sternberg being 56°C. It also follows injection of either the endo- 

 toxin or the exotoxin. In the immunity resulting from the treat- 

 ment with bacterio-vaccines the serum of the animal becomes 

 agglutinative and bactericidal; in the immunity re'sulting from 

 treatment with the exotoxin, antitoxin is produced. 



Bacillus Proteus Vulgaris (Hauser) 

 Synonym. — Proteus vulgaris 



General Characteristics. — An actively motile, flagellated, non-sporogenous, 

 non-chromogenic, liquefying, aerobic and optionally anaerobic, doubtfully 

 pathogenic, aerogenic bacillus, easily cultivated on artificial media and readily 

 stained by the ordinary methods, though not by Gram's method. 



This bacillus was first found by HauserJ in decomposing animal 

 infusions, usually in company with two closely aUied forms, Proteus 

 mirabihs and Proteus zenkeri, which, as the experiments and 

 observations of Sanfelice and others show, may be identical with it. 

 According to Kruse, it is quite probable that the mixed species 

 formerly called Bacterium termo was largely made up of the proteus. 



Distribution. — The organism is a common saprophyte and is 

 very abundant in water, earth, and air. It is to be expected wher- 



* "Phila. Med. Jour.," Sept. 17, 1898. 



t "Jour, of Med. Research," 1901, vol. vi, p. 281. 



t"Ueber Faulnissbakterien," Leipzig, 1885. 



