INOCULATIONS WITH B. DIPHTHERIJE. 289 



The bacilli are always to be found at the seat of in- 

 oculation, most abundant in the grayish-white fibrino- 

 purulent exudate. They become fewer at a distance 

 from this, so that the more remote parts of the cede- 

 matous tissues do not contain them. They are found 

 not only free, but contained in large number in leuco- 

 cytes, some of which have fragmented nuclei or have 

 lost their nuclei. The bacilli within leucocytes, as well 

 as some outside, frequently stain very faintly and irreg- 

 ularly, and may appear disintegrated and dead. 



Culture-tubes inoculated from the blood, spleen, 

 liver, kidneys, supra-renal capsules, distant lymphatic 

 glands, and serous transudates generally yield negative 

 results ; and negative results are also obtained when 

 these organs are examined microscopically for the 

 bacilli. 



Microscopic examination of the tissues at the seat of 

 inoculation, as well as of the liver, spleen, kidneys, 

 lymphatic glands and elsewhere, reveals the presence of 

 localized foci of cell death, characterized by a peculiar 

 fragmentation of the nuclei of the cells of these 

 parts. 



This destruction of nuclei results in the occurrence 

 of groups of irregularly shaped, deeply staining bodies, 

 having at some times the appearance of particles of 

 dust, while again they may be much larger. Some of 

 them are tolerably regular in outline, while others are 

 irregularly crescentic, dumb-bell, flask-shape, whet- 

 stone-shape, or bladder-like in form. Occasionally 

 nuclei having the appearance of being pinched or drawn 

 out can be seen. At some points the fragments are 

 grouped into isolated masses indicating the location 

 of the nucleus from the destruction of which they 



