Morphology 533 



In 1914 Inada and Ido began the study of Weil's disease in Japan 

 and in 1915 made the first report upon the discovery of the causal 

 organism.* By means of intraperitoneal injections, they succeeded 

 in transmitting the disease to guinea-pigs in whose blood and tissues 

 it was found. Uhlenhuth and Fromme,t Hlibener and Reiter,t and 

 Stokes and Ryle§ confirmed the observations and achieved similar 

 results. Inada, Ido, Kaneko and Ito|| injected the blood of eighteen 

 cases into the abdominal cavities of guinea-pigs and had thirteen 

 successes — i.e., in that number of cases the guinea-pigs showed con- 

 junctival hemorrhage, jaundice, fever and albuminuria. In all of 

 these animals they found in the blood, various organs and urine, a 

 spiral organism for which they suggested the name Spirochmfa 

 icterohemorrhagioe. 



Morphology. — The organism is a closely wound cylindrical 

 thread with gradually tapering ends. Its measurements vary. 



Fig. 206. — Weil's disease. Spirochsetae excreted in the urine of patients (Inada 

 Ido, Hoki, Kaneko and Ito). 



According to Noguchi** it averages 9^ X 0.25 ix. In cultures, how- 

 ever, it may vary from 3 /x to 40 ^u in length. The number of coils 

 is greater in a given length than in any other known spirochaeta, 

 there being 10-12 coils in 5 /.i of length. The coils are closest near 

 the ends. They are never deep, and not seen very distinctly, the 

 appearance being somewhat like a transversely barred chain of 

 streptococci. 



Motility.- — When viewed under a dark field illuminator the move- 

 ment and position are characteristic. Active specimens show a 



, * "Tokyo Ijishiushi," 1915, No. 1908. A full bibliograpliy of their writings 

 IS to be found in the Journal of Experimental Medicine, 1916, xxiii, p. 400. 

 t "Med. Klinik," 1915, xi, 1202. 

 t "Deutsche med. Wochenschrift," 1915, xLi, 1275. 

 . § "Brit. Med. Jour.," Sept. 25, 1916, 11, 413. 

 11 "Jour. Exp. Med.," 1916, xxiii, 377. 

 ** "Jour. Exp. Med.," 1917, xxv, 758. 



