Diphtheria: its natural history and prevention.

  • Thorne, R. Thorne (Richard Thorne), Sir, 1841-1899.
Date:
1891
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Diphtheria: its natural history and prevention. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Augustus C. Long Health Sciences Library at Columbia University and Columbia University Libraries/Information Services, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the the Augustus C. Long Health Sciences Library at Columbia University and Columbia University.

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    acquired disease of the cat the affections of the lungs, liver, and kidney, in prolonged cases, are very marked; and that the affection of the kidney is identical with that induced in cats alike by subcutaneous inoculation with diphtheritic membrane and with cultures of the diph- theria bacillus. In a word, this disease casually occur- ring in the cat is very similar to the malady artificially producible in that animal by inoculating it with human diphtheria material.^ Hence arises a very strong sugges- 1 Extract from Dr. Klein's paper in the Report of the Medical Officer of the Local Government Board for i88g, pp. 159, 160: From a culture on Agar directly derived from a human diphtheria membrane, the culture being nine days old, three cats were inocu- lated into the subcutaneous tissue of the groin, and on the following day three additional cats were inoculated with the same culture. All six showed, after twenty-four hours, swelling in the groin at the seat of inoculation, and were slightly off their feed. After three days the swelling in the groin was, in each case, considerable, the animals remaining quiet and off their feed. Two were found dead at the end of five days, two others after ten days, and the last two after eleven days. The post-nio7'teni examinations showed—ex- tensive haemorrhage in the subcutaneous and muscular tissues, with oedema in the groin, abdomen, and thigh ; the tissue in many places discoloured, appearing as if split up by clefts into lamellae, and almost gangrenous. The lungs and spleen were congested, the liver slightly congested. Both kidneys showed enlargement, and as well a remarkable change which consisted in almost the entire cortex being gray and fattily degenerated, the medulla appearing by contrast much congested. When examined with a lens the cortex appeared composed of numerous whitish streaks separated by the reddish Malpighian corpuscles; near the capsule the whole tissue was uni- formly white. This condition was noticed even in the two animals that died first, i.e. after five days, and it was more pronounced in the other four animals. Under the microscope it was seen that in all the uriniferous tubules—particularly the convoluted tubules—the epithelium was swollen and fattily degenerated, 'or broken down into