Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1881-11-09

THE DGPHrHERIA PLASr-Some ligh
was thrown upon the origin of diphtheri4
last night in lecture before the Academ
Of Natural Sciences oy Professor Horatic
Z. Wood. who gave the result OF hi. re-
searches in connection with DR.. Henry F
Formal, involving the important disc0v.
erg that this fatal and nsiiious disease il
propagated by microscopic plant, or fun.
q, existing in all human beings, especially
in the mouth and throat, but lacking tde
power Of reproduction until given increas
I'd vitality by the di-Urdered conditions d
the mucous membrane which attend sore
throat when caused BY cold. The inve,.
legations were male at the instance of TIN,
National Board of Health and extended
not only to the phenomena attending tn
ordinary endemic diphtheria existing in
Philadel pbs, bot TO the more violent form
occurring from time TO time in diff-ren
places. Dr. Formal visited an infected
town on Lake Michigan, where one third
Of all the children in msrshv district
died of the epidemic, and brought hack
with him specimens of the diphtheiia
virus, several of the false membranes
which invariably formed in the throats Of
ath cte1 persons and portions OF their Wis
cera. In all blood. said the profes sor,
there are two kinds Of cOrpuscles. the red
or color.g giving and the white. By careful
study and experiments, both in human
beings and the lower animals, it was
found that this inti1itesimai plant fastens
upon the white corpuscles, and muItiples
its cells, altering their character until with
the interior destroyed they burst and the
plants, set loose in an irregular mass, sep.
arste and 60 of individually, to continue
the destructive work on other corpuscles.
Thus increased they poison the blood,
choke the vessels and are found in myriad
numbers in the spleen and bone marrow
where the blood is manufactured. Prof.
Woods Investigations show that the false
membrane, supposed to invariably indicate
the presence of diphtheria, may be caused
by ammonia, Spanish dy or any other
irritating influence in the throat, so that
its presence is not inf,lible as indicating
the existence of this disease b. in any
case he false membrane = K lit up bV
this parasitical plant, when grows and
multiplies upon its intilmed surroundings,
whatever may be its cause. 1t is when
the plants grow strong enough 10 entend
to the blood, either poisoning it themselves
or carrying the poison with them, thai
diphtheria sets in. This little plant is ex.
actly the same as found upon coated
tongue. When Prof Wood put plants
such as found upon q healthy tongue in
sterilized matter they failed to grow. On
the contrary, plants from the throat or
blood OF person affected with diphtheris
multiplied rapidly. The practical result
of the investigation pointed out was the
possibility that iiphtheria, if existing the
ories bold good, may be prevented bg
artificial vaccination. In the case Of splen.
ie fever caught from animals, which has
been proved to originate in a somewhat
similar plant, Pasteur has found tuat the
plant when exposed sufficient time to
the air, by the action of oxygen Inses its
poisonous character, and when then intro
duced into the system makes the animal
sick, but is no longer fatal. The deduc.
ton is that this diphtheric plant, scientific.
ally known as "micrococi,' may in time
he cultivated so that when inoculated with
it the system will be no longer subject to
the disease in the fatal form. Concluding
the lecture Prof. Wood was applauded
when be said that these discoveries could
never have been made but for the aid OF
vivisection, against which there is a fool
ish prejudice in the minds Of many.-Pkl.
GielphiG Times.