SIGNIFICANCE OF ANAEROBIC ORGANISMS IN PERITONITIS DUE TO LIVER AUTOLYSIS

Abstract

The recent investigations of Ellis and Dragstedt¹ have reopened the question of the bacterial flora of normal living tissue. They found a gram-positive anaerobic bacillus present in the liver of normal dogs and in the peritoneal exudate of dogs dying from intraperitoneal autolysis of fresh liver and sterile liver. Andrews and Hrdina,² while doing research work in connection with the same problem, found toxic strains of Clostridium welchii in the peritoneal exudate of dogs dying of liver peritonitis. They also refer to the liver organism as Bacillus welchii. The organism that these workers recovered produces a filtrate which, in large doses, is lethal for guinea-pigs and rabbits. Rewbridge³ found B. welchii in the peritoneal exudate formed from injections of bile and bile salts and assumed it to be the agent in death from this cause. The bacterial flora of killed animal tissue has been studied by many