The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1886-10-02
PNEUMONIA MICROBES.
Experiments Demonstrating the Bacterial
Origin of This Disease.

Experiments Demonstrating the Bacterial
Origin of This Disease.
The subject of acute pneumonia is
one of those which, of late, has excited
a considerable amount of attention,
and yet, common rs the disease is, it is
one which is surrounded by many I'M
solved problems. Prof Weichselbaum
has recently contributed to the Vienna
Medical Society paper, which, after
stating the prevalent opinions upon
the nature of the affection, and dwell
ing especially upon the different opin-
ions held by Friedlander on the one hand
and Frankel on the other as to the pre-
else characters and properties of the
supposed bacterial agents, he relates
his own experiences. He points out
that clinicians are divided into two
camps upon the Geological question,
some regarding pneumonia as solely
an infective disorder, others consider
ing that the infective forms are diff
ferent from those caused by exposure
to cold. Weichselbaum, distinguish
ing between primary and secondary
forms, divides them into () labor; (2)
disseminated; (3) passive pneumonia
hypostatic, ETC., and (4 lobular. He
has examined one hundred and twenty
seven cases and instituted eighty-seven
cultivation experiments, the material
for the cultures being obtained one or
two hours after death, as well as from
the living subject, by means of Pravaz
| syringe introduced into the lung and
pleura
He distinguishes four kinds of micro
organisms. The diplococcus pneu-
monia is the most common, consis ting
of oval, elliptical and round cocci.
which occur in chains as well as in
pairs. The chains are composed of
! from six to eight or as many as twenty
to thirty cocci, are straight or slightly
curved, and the cocci are developed in
a capsule of varying thickness in pro-
portion to their vitality. The second
/ variety resembles the first, but distin-
guished by a greater uniformity in
spherical shape and in forming long
sinuous chains. The third is known
as the rtaphylococcus aureusts, albus.
The fourth he terms the bacillus pneu-
monte, consisting of rods of differe MT
lengths the smallest and apparently
youngest being oval. They have Il
capsule, and correspond to Friedlan-
der'S pneumococcus.
The first variety was found in ninety
one cases, mostly of croupous pneu-
monia, also in the secondary forms.
The second, or streptoeoccus, was
found twenty times-namely, in fifteen
cases of primary and five of secondary
pneumonia. The staphylococcus oc-
cured in secondary cases only, and
mostly where the primary disease was
due to this mcro-organism. The fourth
kind was met with nine times, four
times unmixed with other forms. All
these organisms were most abundant
in the earlier stages of the disease,
being scanty or absent in gray hepatiza-
ton, and, if present, staining badly or
unencapsuled. At the margins of the
pneumonia focus in the edematous
tissue micrococci were numerous,
pointing to the Gdema being not a
passive process but precursory stage
of pneumonia infiltration, and resemb-
ling the invasion of cutaneous tissue in
erysipelas. Moreover, inflammatory
changes accompanied by these micro
organisms were found in the respira-
tory tract above the lungs. Secondary
meningitis in pneumonia was shown
to be due to the same micro organisms,
which were also found in the Serious
exudations of pleurisy and pericarditis,
which might complicate the lung af-
lection. The bacterial origin of the
disease was, therefore, held to be
demonstrated. N. Y. Herald.