The Role of Phagocytosis in Involuting Organs. 31 



technique to a study of this phenomenon. They have found that 

 tubercle bacilli, injected into the peritoneal cavities of tuberculous 

 guinea pigs, undergo rapid degeneration and a rapid decrease in 

 number. 



They interpret these changes as a rapid lysis of bacilli. If this 

 interpretation is correct, it will necessitate a revision of current 

 ideas concerning the resisting power of the tubercle bacillus. 



We have repeated and extended their work. We have found 

 that tubercle bacilli, injected into the peritoneal cavities of 

 tuberculous guinea-pigs, will occasionally give the degeneration 

 forms and the non-staining forms they describe; and that, under 

 certain conditions, there may be a complete disappearance of the 

 bacilli from the peritoneal fluids within as short a period of time 

 as three hours. 



Whether this disappearance is due to an actual lysis of the 

 tubercle bacilli, or to other causes, we have not yet determined. 

 As evidence in favor of lysis we have the observation that all of 

 the normal control guinea pigs injected intraperitoneally with the 

 test suspensions of tubercle bacilli have died from a fulminating 

 type of visceral tuberculosis, within a period of from three to four 

 weeks, while most of the tuberculous guinea pigs, receiving the 

 same test doses, have^survived for a longer period of time. A 

 few of these tuberculous guinea pigs however have died within 

 twenty-four hours after the intraperitoneal tests, suggesting an 

 anaphylactic reaction. 



We have obtained a similar rapid disappearance of tubercle 

 bacilli from the peritoneal cavities of tuberculous rabbits, from 

 tuberculous rats, and from tuberculous dogs. The mechanism of 

 the phenomenon is now under investigation. 



22 (718) 



The role of phagocytosis in involuting organs. 

 By Max Morse. 



[From the Boardman Laboratories, Trinity College, Hartford, Conn.] 



In order to clear the way for a study of the transfer of protein 

 in the involuting tail of the tadpole, it was necessary to reexamine 

 the role which has been ascribed by Metschnikoff, Barfurth, 



