Contributions to the experimental pathology of spirillum fever / by H. Vandyke Carter ; (communicated by James Andrew).

  • Carter, H. V. (Henry Vandyke), 1831-1897.
Date:
1880
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Contributions to the experimental pathology of spirillum fever / by H. Vandyke Carter ; (communicated by James Andrew). Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    ever, and did not attempt to eat. Presently, and before fever had ceased, improvement began, and at last conva- lescence was prompt; the rebound did not appear to entail additional suffering; the palsy of the left arm was per- sistent. By the only mishap which occurred in my experiments this animal had been injected with spirillar blood the day before inoculation with the saliva. I do not think the prior injection had any considerable influence upon the results noted, which were similar in character to those of the preceding experiment, No. 42. B. 1 was shortly afterwards again inoculated with, spirillar blood, and the successful result is described under Experiment 8. Forty-fourth experiment.—The saliva of a perfectly healthy man contained epithelial scales, micrococci, bac- teria, vibrios, and granular matter; spirilla were not detected in the fresh state, but after treatment with acetic acid, wavy filaments were seen, which had all the aspects of them. Ten minims of this fluid were injected in the usual manner and place. 2. B. B., a monkey in healthy condition, though a few weeks before the subject of spirillum fever, showed on the day following some inflammation of the thigh, and a small abscess at the site of injection three days later. Thei'e was no fever (maximum temperature on fourth day, 103-2°), or only a slight exaggeration of the normal daily cycle, with a tendency to decline below the mean, and the blood was unchanged on the first four days ; convalescence was complete. The above experiments indicate the presence of a toxic agent m saliva which is not the spirillar, and should the latter exist, it seems to be overcome by the former, what- ever its nature. Healthy saliva is irritant, and during and after the spirillum fever this quality is greatly intern sified, so that even death may ensue from the inoculation of: febrile sputum. Germs of the mouth-parasite are not developed within the blood of an animal susceptible of direct contamination from the blood of another infected animal.