ZOOLOGY AND BOTANY, MICROSCOPY, ETC. 
675 
but tho remarkable feature was the copious evolution of gas, which was 
so great that it would push the agar up 2 cm. In bouillon the bacteria 
sink and no scum forms. The bacillus was found to grow equally well 
in the presence or absence of oxygen. 
Injection experiments showed that the micro-organism was pathogenic 
to rabbits, guinea-pigs, mice, and pigeons. The most constant post- 
mortem phenomenon was enlargement of the spleen, from which pure 
cultivations were mado. In those animals which survived for a week, 
suppurative peritonitis occurred, and if they lasted still longer, large 
masses of fat were found in the abdominal organs. 
Presence of Micro-organisms in the organs of those dead of 
Cholera.* — Dr. L. de Rekowski has made a number of experiments on 
cholera corpses to ascertain if the cholera bacillus be present in the 
tissues or organs. The author’s results are conclusive. In a very 
large number of trials cholera bacilli were found in parts of the body 
other than the intestinal canal. The method adopted was to cut out 
with the necessary precautions a piece about the size of a nut, and cul- 
tivate it in a liquid medium for 20-30 hours. The cultivation medium 
was Buchner’s fluid and a 2 per cent, solution of peptone. The latter 
formed about one-tenth of the bulk in each test-tube. Buchner’s fluid 
is composed of one part of bouillon in which cholera bacilli have been 
cultivated for two or three weeks. This is sterilized and then mixed with 
10 parts of a half percent, solution of sea-salt. After mixing, the solu- 
tion is sterilized anew for half an hour at 120°. 
After the lapse of 20-30 hours the test-tubes were examined to see 
if they contained bacteria. If they did, four plates were inoculated and 
the colonies which grew up were re-implanted in gelatin, potato, and 
bouillon. Examination of brain, spinal subarachnoid fluid, heart, 
clot in heart, liver, bile, spleen, kidney, and voluntary muscle showed 
the presence of cholera bacilli, together with other bacteria in a large 
percentage of cases. From this the author concludes that the prevalent 
opinion about the cholera bacilli being restricted to the gastro-intestinal 
tract is unfounded. 
Pathogenesis of Anthrax in Guinea-pigs and Rabbits, t— It has 
been held by many that in its pathogenesis anthrax in man and cattle is 
a local disorder with slight extension into the circulation and the rest of 
the body, while in other animals it has a more hsematogenous character. 
Drs. G. Frank and O. Lubarsch have made experiments with the view of 
finding out how soon post infectionem anthrax can be demonstrated by 
cultivation methods in the blood and internal organs. In guinea-pigs 
the micro-organisms were never found before seventeen hours, and were 
never absent after twenty-two hours. Within this period, therefore, the 
bacilli pass into the circulation first of all, and in greatest numbers into 
spleen, lungs, and liver. Rabbits evinced considerable individual 
differences in the resistance to infection, and the number of micro- 
organisms present in tho internal organs was subject to great variations, 
but they were hardly ever absent. 
* Arch. Sci. Biol. Inst. Imp. de Med. Exp. a St. Petersbourg. i. (1892) pp. 517-31. 
t Zeitsclir. f. Hygiene, xi. See Centralbl. f. Bakteriol. u. Parasitenk., xiii. (1893) 
pp. 283-4. 
1893. 3 A 
