238 CLINICAL DIAGNOSTICS. 



Inoculation of experimental animals. A male Guinea 

 pig is inoculated subcutaneously at the abdomen with nasal 

 secretion, pus, etc., from a suspicious subject. If the inocu- 

 lated material contains the bacilli of glanders a local abscess 

 will develop at the point of inoculation and a firm hot swelling 

 appear im the region of the thigh. After 2-4 weeks the 

 Guinea pig is killed with chloroform. The presence of the 

 characteristic nodules, etc., of glanders, in the region of the 

 point of inoculation and in the testicles confirms the diagnosis. 



The method of Strauss, consisting of the intra-peri- 

 toneal inoculation of male Guinea pigs, is of more recent intro- 

 duction. With a cotton swab dip up some -of the suspicious 

 material from an ulcer or from nasal secretion, rinse in a few 

 cubic centimeters of sterilized water, and inject one or two 

 cubic centimeters of this fluid into the abdominal cavity of each 

 of several Guinea pigs. If the inoculated material contained 

 the bacilli of glanders, reddening and swelling of the scrotum 

 and adhesion of the testicles will occur in the course of two 

 or three days. More or less isolated pus centers develop on 

 the tunica vaginalis and cause an adhesion of the peritoneal 

 folds. Sometimes a single center at the point of inoculation, 

 constitutes the only lesion. The danger of a general septic 

 infection, from the impure material, may be obviated by keep- 

 ing the infected swabs in a refrigerator for a few days. Pota- 

 to cultures should always be made from the lesions of the 

 scrotum. The true glanders bacillus produces yellow colonies 

 resembling honey in color, while the pseudobacillus of glan- 

 ders (Kutscher) produces white colonies. 



Cats, also, are suitable animals for inoculation. They are 

 inoculated at the back of the neck. 



Serum Diagnosis by Means of Complement Fixation. In 

 glandered horses the toxin (antigen) of the glanders bacilli 

 causes the formation of antibodies. These antibodies can 

 develop only in the body of an animal affected with glanders. 

 Fresh Guinea pig serum contains free complements which, 



