12 - Anthrax. 



completely neutralized, and therefore the bacilli gaining en- 

 trance into the blood circulation multiply therein very rapidly 

 with little or no hindrance. The blood becomes heavily charged 

 with the bacilli and in a short time the animal dies, showing 

 manifestations of a severe disease — frequently in a few hours 

 or even less. 



At points where large numbers of bacilli accumulate as at 

 the point of infection, the great amount of capsule substance 

 which is present swells from the gradual absorption of fluid. 

 These body fluids are absorbed by the capsule substance which 

 becomes gelatinous, and consequently the fluids are prevented 

 from re-entering the circulation, causing in these parts edema- 

 tous swellings. The bacilli also accumulate in great masses in the 

 capillaries, and because of the resulting interference with the 

 blood circulation, principally on account of the injury to the 

 walls of the vessels, more or less extensive hemorrhages de- 

 velop. These occur very frequently in the center of the 

 edematous swellings as well as in the organs with slow circula- 

 tion (spleen, liver, brain). 



The importance of the capsules as a protection against injurious 

 action of the phagocytes and bactericidal substances in the hody fluids 

 is recognized by the majority of authors, among them being Babes, 

 Metschnikoff, Gruber & Futaki, Preisz and others. There are others, how- 

 ever, such as Bail, Fischoeder, Toyosumi and Menokawa, who are even 

 at the present time inclined to consider the capsule formation as an 

 abnormal swelling. 



Regarding the origin of the bactericidal substances in the body 

 fluids, Preisz accepts the opinion of Metschnikoff that they originate 

 from leucocytes. Gruber and Futaki also attribute a certain amount 

 of importance to the leucanthracocidin which is given up by the 

 leucocytes on certain stimulation, but they believe that the destruction 

 of the extracellular anthrax bacilli is due to the action of the 

 placqanthracocidin which is secreted by the blood plates into the blood 

 plasma under the stimulation of the anthrax substances, and which 

 also confers upon the serum its germicidal action after the coagulation 

 of the extravascular blood. 



Some of the symptoms of the disease (fever, severe general dis- 

 turbances) as well as analogy to other diseases point to the fact that 

 anthrax bacilli produce toxic substances similar to those of other path- 

 ogenic bacteria. When these are absorbed into the circulation their 

 action, on the one hand, is injurious to the central nervous system, 

 particularly the respiratory center, and on the other hand, at the 

 places where great numbers of bacteria are accumulated, on the blood 

 vessels. However, the filtrates of the cultures are not toxic, and as a 

 matter of fact, the ■existence of an anthrax toxin has not been satis- 

 factorily proved (Gonradi, Levy & Beckmann). Nevertheless, through 

 the process of autolysis a rennet ferment, a fatty acid splitting and a 

 peptonizing ferment, may be extracted from the bacilli (Pfersdorff), 

 while Boidin produced from them fatty substances which, when inof'u- 

 lated subcutaneously, caused inflammatory edema and progressiva 

 emaciation. Lastly, the observations of Johne show a production of 

 hemolysins whereby in a hanging drop of blood charged with anthrax 



