actinomycosis. 44s 



Transmission of Actinomycosis feom Man to the Lower Animals. 



Inoculation of cultures has already been referred to. The 

 author successfully inoculated a calf with material direct from 

 a living patient. 



A calf which had been inoculated in the peritoneal cavity, and 

 killed seventy days afterwards, presented the following lesions. The 

 peritoneum of the rumen, in the vicinity of the seat of inoculation, 

 was studded with hundreds of growths, varying in size from a millet- 

 seed to a pea. The large growths were composed of several small 

 ones collected together. On stripping off the peritoneum, and holding 

 it between the light and the eye, the fungus could be seen with 

 the naked eye in each individual growth. By incising a growth, 

 and examining a scraping under the microscope, the characteristic 

 clubs, and the filaments also, were found to be present. By staining 

 cover-glass preparations with the method of Gram and orange-rubin, 

 the appearances were very striking. The clubs were conspicuous on 

 account of their size, and brilliantly stained. In many, the proto- 

 plasm of the thread was demonstrated in the interior of the club. 

 In sections of the peritoneal nodules stained by Gram's method 

 the mycelium was found to be present, and the clubs in part 

 took the stain. With Plaut's method the clubs were most clearly 

 demonstrated. 



Israel and Johne failed to infect a calf by intravenous injec- 

 tion, and Ponfick failed to infect dogs, but Israel succeeded with 

 a rabbit. Israel obtained a small piece of actinomycotic granula- 

 tion tissue from a peri-pleural abscess in a patient with primary- 

 disease of the lung, and introduced it into the peritoneal cavity. 

 The rabbit showed no sign of illness, and was killed about ten 

 weeks afterwards. On examination numbers of tumours were 

 found in the abdominal cavity, varying in size from a hemp-seed 

 to a cherry. Larger ones had a somewhat nodular surface with 

 yellowish points ; others were found on the abdominal wall on 

 the right side. There was a small growth over the psoas muscle, 

 and one large one attached to an adhesion of the colon. The 

 growths were on the peritoneum, or attached by longer or shorter 

 adhesions. Some of the larger tumours showed on section a hollow 

 space in the centre, which was filled with a pulp, the result of 

 fatty degeneration of the transplanted tissue, which was sharply 

 differentiated in colour and consistency from the new growths. The 

 latter consisted of granulation tissue with abundant formation of 

 fat granules, blood pigment, acicular fat crystals, and actinomycotic 



