284 
Action of Chemicals on Spirochaetes 
Comparative summary of observations on the effect of various chemical 
reagents on the morphology of Spirochaetes. 
Reagent 
1. Distilled water 
2. Tap-water ... 
3. Sea-water 
4. Sodium chlo¬ 
ride 
5. Sodium carbo¬ 
nate 
6. Caustic potash 2 
Spirochaeta 
Effect on Spirochaete 
Observer 
S. balbianii, Certes ... 
Death occurs : plasma swells and bursts 
periplast 
Perrin. 
Die quickly 
Fantham. 
S. culicis, Jaffe 
Die quickly 
Jaffe. 
S. marchouxi, Nuttall 
(After 10 °/ 0 NaCl solution.) No burst¬ 
Prowazek. 
(= gallinarum, Blan¬ 
chard) 
S. pallida, Schaudinn 
ing out of plasma through periplast 
Die quickly 
Eitmer. 
S. recurrentis, Lebert 
Increased activity for 6-8 hrs.: then be¬ 
come sluggish: after coming to rest, 
their form is perfectly retained: revived 
by 5 % NaCl solution 1 2 
Novy and Knapp. 
S. balbianii 
Live slightly longer than in distilled water 
Fantham. 
S. anodontae , Keysse- 
Lived one hour 
Fantham. 
litz 
S. balanitidis 
10 °/o solution causesj spirochaetes to 
Hoffmann and 
appear narrower and more refractive : 
no plasmolysis 
Prowazek. 
S. marchouxi 
5-10 °/ 0 solutions had no effect beyond 
occasional production of a protoplas¬ 
mic “ bead ” 
Prowazek. 
S. pallida 
Swell: fraying repeatedly seen, also 
knot-like thickenings 
Siebert. 
S.vesperti l ionis , No vy 
2-5 % solutions produce no plasmolysis 
Gonder. 
and Knapp 
Spirochaetes of the 
10-12 °/ 0 solutions produce shrinkage 
Siebert. 
mouth 
here and there, through extraction of 
water : tendency to form tangled skeins 
S. buccalis 
In saturated solution are unaltered ... 
Swellengrebel. 
Spirochaetes of the 
Become paler ... 
Hoffmann and 
mouth (S. buccalis. 
Prowazek. 
etc.) 
S. balanitidis 
Become paler and fewer: after 2 hours 
Hoffmann and 
all disappeared 
Prowazek. 
S. balbianii 
In 10 °/ 0 solution some retained shape 
for a long time and were not dissolved. 
(Did not appear blue in iodine and sul¬ 
phuric acid after caustic potash) 
Fantham. 
S. buccalis 
Dissolve 
Hoffmann and 
Prowazek. 
In 10-20 °/ 0 solutions become paler ... 
Swellengrebel. 
S. culicis ... 
Dissolve in 1 °/ 0 solution ... 
Jaffe. 
S. marchouxi 
Die; some dissolve, others remain as 
pale “shadows” 
Prowazek. 
S. pa llida 
Dissolve 
Eitmer. 
S. vespertilionis 
Die and are dissolved 
Gonder. 
1 I fail to understand how Novy and Knapp arrived at this result. I repeatedly tried the effect of 
distilled water on the spirochaetes, and always found that they became immobile in a very few minutes. 
2 Thesing tried the effect of caustic potash on “various spirochaetes,” and found that they remained 
unaltered. 
i 
