BACILLUS SPOROGENES 553 
BACILLUS SPOROGENES. 
Tliere is a group of anaerobic bacteria, or possibly a single \ariety 
exiiibiting several types, which possesses in common the ability to 
induce rapid and deep-seated cleavage of proteins. Metchnikof}' 
isolated the first two types from the intestinal contents of man, and 
( 'houkevitz- soon confirmed this observation by identifying the same 
t\pes in the flora of the large intestine of the horse. Berthelot* studied 
the chemistry of the Metciniikoff strains, and showed that they difl'er 
(|uantitati\ely rather than qualitatively. Acute interest in the grou]) 
was aroused by the occurrence of microbes apparently identical with 
the MetchnikofY organisms in the bacterial flora of wounds of warfare. 
Donaldson^ described his "Reading" bacillus, which is apparently 
identical with B. sporogenes, in detail, and somewhat later in collabora- 
tion with Joyce^ studied the proteolytic powers of the organism in con- 
nection with its possible utilization for the digestion of diseased tissue 
in wounds. Mcintosh and F'ildes'' also recognized two putrefactive 
organisms, Xos. XI (identified as B. sporogenes) and Xo. XII (uniden- 
tified), which exhibit, according to their descriptions, quantitative 
but not qualitative differences similar in degree and kind to the organ- 
isms described by ]\IetchnikoflP. The name "parasporogenes" has been 
suggested by them for the latter variant. In justification therefore, the 
agglutinins formed in suitable animals are stated to exhibit specificity 
which is of sufficient definiteness to warrant the serological distinction 
of the two types. It cannot be asserted at present that the two types 
are of sufficient tangibility to justify the creation of two distinct 
entities: Dysentery and tetanus bacilli, ^'ibrion septique, meningo- 
cocci and pneumococci exhibit somewhat similar serological differences, 
or nodes of serological specificity, which are equally well recognized. 
These serological variants, however, are not regarded as separate and 
distinct entities. 
Morphology. — B. sporogenes is a medium-sized, rod-shaped bacillus 
with roimded ends which measures from 0.6 to 1 micron in diameter 
and from 2.5 to 7 microns in length. It occurs singly or in pairs, as a 
rule, and does not ordinarily exhibit marked involutionary forms upon 
])rolonged cultivation. Longer or shorter chains, however, are not 
infrequently observed in artificial media. They are also occasionally, 
but not consistently, observed in pathological material. 
Motility is pronounced, and according to Weinberg and Seguin,^ 
there are several peritrichic flagella. Capsules have not been demon- 
strated. Spores are formed with great constancy in artificial media 
but their presence in the tissues or fluids of the body is not definitely 
established. The spores are oval and located typically in the center, 
1 Ann. Inst. Pasteur, 1908, 22, 929. 
2 Ibid., 1911, 25, 247, 345. ^ jbid., 1909, 23, 85. 
* Jour. Pathol, and Bacteriol., 1918, 22, 129. •"' Lancet, 1917, ii, 445. 
^ Medical Research Committee, Special Report No. 12, 1927. 
" La Gangrene Gazeuse, Paris, 1917. 
