The microbiology of syphilis / by Elie Metchnikoff ; translated by J. Keogh Murphy.

  • Mechnikov, I. I.
Date:
1908
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Licence: In copyright

Credit: The microbiology of syphilis / by Elie Metchnikoff ; translated by J. Keogh Murphy. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    Giemsa’s solution, Thesing declared that the Spirochaete pallida came from this mixture in the same way. It was, however, very easy to refute this objection, as Schaudinn had actually made the discovery when using fresh material, in which medium the spirilla were living and moving under the eye of the observer. However, this refutation did not discourage his adversaries : far from it; they proceeded to frame a regular indictment gainst the Spirochaete pallida as the cause of syphilis, and although at the present time only a very few observers of any note remain on their side, it is, all the same, proper that we should take some notice of the principal objections. This task becomes more easy, thanks to the appearance of two recent papers by Solingin which he has collected together all that can possibly be said on the subject. According to this author, the Spirochaete pallida is a saprophyte which develops with great ease in the cutaneous lesions of syphilis, and is only found in internal organs in hereditary sj^hiHs of the foetus and the new-born child, where it is generalized in the same way as the common bacillus of the digestive tract. The principal argument by which Baling tries to prove his contention is the following :—The spirillum of Schaudinn has never been obtained in the internal organs of syphilitic monkeys, which organs are nevertheless very virulent. Baling applies him- self to many experiments to prove this fact, which he considers to be absolutely established. Here is an extract from his work ‘ Although every year hundreds of syphilitic monkeys are examined, no spirilla are to be found in the “ extremely virulent organs ”, except in one case of Zabolotny [which we have already quoted in the third chapter (chapter VII)]. This case is merely an exception to the rule.’ I myself can testify, from a good deal of knowledge in the matter, that of the large number of syphilitic monkeys which are under observation in different laboratories by far the greater number have never been examined from the point of view as to whether their internal organs contained spirilla at all. Indeed it would have been a useless waste of time to constantly make
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