RELATION OF BOVINE TO HUMAN TUBERCULOSIS. 
9 
This series of experiments and observations has been 
selected from literature with the greatest care, any reports 
which appeared not to be well authenticated or of a doubt¬ 
ful nature being excluded.” 
‘‘Further circumstantial evidence is at hand in the fact 
that such large numbers of the bottle fed children die of the 
abdominal form of tuberculosis, and while, in some coun¬ 
tries, the death rate of adults shows a marked decrease, 
the tuberculosis of children, and especially infants, is on the 
increase.” 
As previously stated, if we could but supply the one 
missing link, viz: whether the bacillus of tuberculosis is 
pathogenic for man, we would have our chain of evidence 
complete, and a positive demonstration would be our 
reward and the question would be no longer doubtful. 
The cases which I will now quote, from Dr. Repps’ report, 
show conclusively that tuberculosis in the bovine species 
can be conveyed to man through one channel at least. 
“Tscherming, of Copenhagen, attended a veterinarian who 
had cut his finger in making a postmortem on a tuberculous 
cow. The wound healed but there still remained a swelling 
which soon ulcerated and refused to heal so that the whole 
tumefied mass had to be cut out. The microscope revealed 
the distinct tuberculous process and the presence of the 
characteristically staining bacilli.” Pfeiffer attended at 
Weimar, a veterinarian named Moses, thirty-four years old, 
of good constitution and without hereditary disposition, 
who, in 1885, cut his right thumb deeply in making a post¬ 
mortem on a tuberculous cow. The wound healed, but six 
months later the cicatrix still remained swollen and in 
autumn, 1886, the man had pulmonary tuberculosis with 
bacilli in his sputa and death occured in two and one-half 
years after the wound. Post-mortem revealed tuberculosis 
of the joint of the wounded thumb, and in the lungs exten¬ 
sive tubercles and vomicae.” “ Law reports that a young 
veterinary friend of his who was inoculated in the hand in 
opening a tuberculous cow, suffered from a tumefaction of 
the resulting cicatrix with tubercle-bacilli.” 
Rich reports that a man cut his finger on a spicule of 
bone, while making a post-mortem examination of tuber¬ 
culous cows, and that in a few weeks he developed a tuber¬ 
culous joint, and a few months later showed unmistakable 
signs of phthisis. 
Ravenel reports the case of a veterinarian who cut the 
knuckle of his finger while making post-mortem examina- 
