88 
SUMMARY OF CURRENT RESEARCHES RELATING TO 
The fish, which were raw salmon and salted sturgeon and sterlet, were 
apparently eaten in these instances uncooked. The most prominent 
symptoms were weakness, general pains, and a paralytic condition of the 
secreting organs, e. g. dryness of the mucosas, suppression of urine, 
obstinate constipation, also dimness of vision and abnormal tem- 
perature. The post-mortem appearances were not noteworthy, but 
microscopical and bacteriological examination resulted in demonstrating 
the same microbes as were found to infest the fish. Four micro- 
organisms are mentioned as having been isolated from the sterlet and 
salmon, those from the latter liquefying gelatin, while those from the 
former form a dry greyish-white crust on the surface. By both sets 
of microbes bouillon is rendered turbid, and they slowly deposit them- 
selves at the bottom of the tube. The cultivations are without odour. 
The sterlet microbes are about 3/4 /x thick and 1^-2 /x long, those of the 
salmon being a little thicker and longer. Both sorts were frequently 
observed in pairs, were only faintly stained by anilin pigments, and 
were decolorized by Gram’s method. 
Rabbits injected subcutaneously with pure cultivations died more 
or less quickly, but cats and dogs similarly treated recovered in a 
few days after passing through a pretty severe attack of poisoning. 
Spore-formation in Anthrax Bacilli.* — In making some observations 
relative to spore-formation in anthrax, Dr. R. Turro cultivated bacilli 
and spores on the surface of a 3 per cent, agar-meat-broth ; and under 
these conditions he found that the colonies developed better, and that 
spore- formation occurred much earlier, than when the ordinary method 
was adopted. It was also remarked that under these circumstances 
the sporulation began at the uppermost layers, gradually descend- 
ing to the deeper layers until the whole consisted almost of a mass of 
spores. As the spores were found both at the end and in the middle, 
it was inferred that their development was directly connected with their 
free exposure to the air, an inference supported by cultivating some 
anthrax under a cover-glass ; for here the spore-formation was seen to 
be free enough round about the edge, while it was scanty at the 
centre. 
But though there seems to be direct connection between sporulation 
and the presence of air, the bacilli only form spores when exposed to 
the action of oxygen, if the nutrient medium has been rendered 
unfertile from the diffusion therein of the decomposition-products of 
the bacillary growth ; and it is this view that the author accepts rather 
than that spore-formation is due to the exhaustion of the cultivation 
medium. 
Schizomycetes in the Gall-bladder.f — Dr. Naunyn examined bac- 
teriologically the contents of the gall-bladder in three cases of gall- 
stone. In two of these the fluid obtained was sterile, while from the 
third was obtained a bacillus which had certain resemblances in 
common both with Bacterium coli commune Escherich and with Fried- 
* Gaceta Medica Catalana, 1891, Nos. 3-4. See Centralbl. f. Bakteriol. u. Para- 
sitenk., x. (1891) pp. 91-2. 
t Deutsche Med. Wochenschr., 1891, No. 5. See Centralbl. f. Bakteriol. u. 
Farasitenk., x. (1891) pp. 92-3. 
