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Scientific Proceedings (126) 



Extraction. All extractions were made in the morning before 

 the subject had taken water or food, approximately 15 hours 

 after the last meal. 



Extractions from the stomach were made one hour after the 

 tube was swallowed; extractions from the duodenum (below 24 

 inches) were made three hours after swallowing; for longer 

 tube-lengths, intervals of eighteen hours to thirty-six hours were 

 allowed. 



All specimens were delivered to the laboratory within half an 

 hour and at once submitted to the various procedures. 



Eight subjects were utilized for the study; some of them were 

 under observation for several months. All were patients in Belle- 

 vue Hospital. Sub. I suffered from chronic arthritis and Sub. 

 II from arthritis deformans. (The attempt was made to utilize 

 patients from the Lenox Hill Hospital also, but the distance of 

 this hospital from the laboratory caused too much delay between 

 the extraction and the study of the specimens). 



Results. The results obtained in the eight subjects are sum- 

 marized below. The Table presents the details of the examina- 

 tions of two subjects at three levels of the alimentary tract. 



Stomach Contents — Number of Organisms. The number of 

 viable organisms and spores in the stomach contents were uni- 

 formally low except in Subject II in whom the numbers, exclu- 

 sive of spores, were always high. (It may be added that there 

 was no obvious discharge of pus from this subject's mouth). 



Varieties of Organisms. Eleven different varities of organ- 

 isms were identified in the gastric contents. Some seven varie- 

 ties of Gram-positive, spore-bearing bacilli, some of them pleo- 

 morphic, were isolated but not identified. The greatest variety 

 of bacteria was found in Sub. I with relatively small total num- 

 bers. 



The occasional presence in the stomach of organisms, com- 

 monly identified with the intestine is probably due to regurgita- 

 tion from the duodenum. 



Cultural Properties. Acid production was the rule in dextrose- 

 broth and litmus-milk. The production of gas was not constant 

 and the quantity was small. Milk was coagulated and the curd 

 was partially or completely digested. Loeffler's serum showed 

 only slight digestion occasionally. Gelatin was partially or com- 

 pletely liquified. 



