22 
INFECTIVE AND CONTAGIOUS DISEASES. 
of true septic infection. Also in anthrax Bacilli have been 
found to generate the disease. In pyaemia we find the pheno¬ 
mena of thrombosis or phlebitis, entrance into the blood and 
diffusion throughout the system of the products of breaking 
down of the clot, leading to embolic pysemia with secondary 
abscesses, and often producing the condition known as septico- 
pysemia. It was originally supposed that softening of the clot, 
setting up embolic abscesses in the lungs, and then in serous 
and synovial membranes constituted pysemia, but it was observed 
that sometimes the products of solution are prevented from 
entry into the general mass of the blood by a second thrombus. 
Also, sometimes no abscesses occur in the lungs, therefore the 
embolic theory does not suffice, and we must find some other 
septic influence. The observations of the presence of micro¬ 
cocci on the wound, and in various parts .of the system are suffi¬ 
cient to account for pyaemia; and the arguments against the 
potency of their influence are not conclusive. But it is argued 
that they are not constantly present, and therefore are not 
essential. In cases of acute necrosis and ulcerative endocar¬ 
ditis, the lecturer has found the leucocytes largely increased, 
and in spite of the absence of those conditions of the blood, 
commonly considered septicsemic, various forms of Bacteria are 
present. Thus Micrococci abounded in masses in the venules, 
and arterioles of various organs, filling up the vessels and some¬ 
times diffused in the tissues around the vessels; they stain 
readily with logwood and methyl aniline, and these colourings 
w«re not removed by the action of dilute acids or alkalies; even 
in the lymphatic glands they were found in the vessels; they 
occur to a marked degree in the periphery of abscesses. With 
regard to their non-constancy, on re-examination of organs 
supposed to be free from them they have been detected, for 
scattered Micrococci in various organs are distinguishable only 
by certain methods. Again, they often occur in parts which 
give no visible evidence of pysemic change, and they probably 
disappear when the diseased processes are far advanced, or lose 
their power of staining. They occur especially where the greatest 
retardation of the blood-current occurs, as in the glomeruli of the 
kidney and they set up changes due to obstruction of the passage 
of the blood, such as abscesses. They may cause ruptures of the 
smaller vessels. They are therefore competent by their presence 
to give rise to the ordinary phenomena of pysemia. They are 
usually found in the infective material of similar diseases in the 
lower animals. In the vessels they first adhere in zoogloea masses 
to the walls and aggregate round the white corpuscles. The con¬ 
nective-tissue corpuscles, too, are centres of aggregation of large 
Micrococci often in chains causing surrounding swelling. As is 
