LE1SHMANIA DONOVANI 



671 



taken up by the mononuclear leucocytes and by such cells as 

 the endothelial lining of the splenic sinuses or those lining 

 capillaries or lymphatics, that in these cells multiplication takes 

 place, — it may be to such an extent as to rupture the cell, — and 

 that if thus the bodies become free they are taken up by other 

 cells and the process is repeated. The clusters of bodies some- 

 times seen in smears are probably held together by the remains 

 of ruptured phagocytes. In capillaries the endothelial cells after 

 phagocyting the bodies probably become detached from the 

 capillary wall, as they are often observed free in the lumen of 

 the vessel — this being well seen in the hepatic capillaries. 

 In the body generally 

 the parasites are found 

 in greatest abundance 

 in the spleen, liver, and 

 bone marrow, and also 

 in mesenteric glands, 

 especially in those drain- 

 ing one of the intestinal 

 ulcers ; less frequently 

 they occur in the skin 

 ulcers, and in other parts 

 of the body. Donovan 

 described them as occur- 

 ring in the peripheral 

 blood, especially within 

 the leucocytes, and this 

 observation has been 

 generally confirmed, 

 though sometimes pro- 

 longed search is neces- 

 sary. Patton has found that the numbers in the blood vary 

 from time to time, and special incursions may be associated 

 with exacerbations of dysenteric symptoms which he holds 

 indicate a spread of the intestinal ulceration. 



In the body the parasite multiplies by simple fission, both 

 nuclei dividing amitotically, and two new individuals being 

 formed; but sometimes a multiple division takes place, each 

 nucleus dividing several times within the protoplasm and a 

 corresponding number of new parasites resulting. 



In view of Leishman's original opinion an extremely important 

 discovery was made by Rogers and later confirmed by Leishman 

 himself, to the effect that in cultures a flagellate organism 

 developed from the Leishman-Donovan body. Cultivation was 



Fig. 199. — Leishnian-Donovan bodies within 

 endothelial cell in spleen. See also Plate 

 VI., Fig. 24. X1000. 



