Some moot points in the pathology and clinical history of pneumonia ... / by Percy Kidd.

  • Kidd, Percy.
Date:
[1912?]
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Some moot points in the pathology and clinical history of pneumonia ... / by Percy Kidd. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The University of Leeds Library. The original may be consulted at The University of Leeds Library.

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    the more sensitive animals, the pneumococcus causes a septiccemia from which the animal rapidly dies without any marked local changes in the organs. In more re- sistant animals the septicaemic condition is less marked or absent, and fibrinous exudation occurs in the lungs and serous membranes as in man. But it has been shown that most of the localized com- plications of pneumonia are due to the diplococcus, such as meningitis, peritonitis, pericarditis, bronchitis, endo- carditis, otitis, &c. Moreover, in many instances a primary meningitis, pericarditis, peritonitis has been proved to be pneumococcal when the lungs had escaped entirely. The same is true of inflammations apparently primary of other parts—rhinitis, tonsillitis, conjunctivitis, orchitis, prostatitis, cystitis, enteritis, thyroiditis. Mention may here be made of an extensive research, conducted by Kiralyfi [5], of Budapest, in Professor Bordet's laboratory in Brussels, on pneumococcal in- fection in guinea-pigs. Kiralyfi finds that, contrary to the usually accepted statement, this animal is very sus- ceptible to infection. Of the twenty-five guinea-pigs inoculated subcutaneously with pure cultures a few re- covered, one was killed six days afterwards, the rest died twenty-four hours to seven days after infection. The results of his experiments confirm the conclusion of clinical observers that the heart is specially liable to suffer in pneumococcal infection. In cases of rapidly fatal septicaemia without any gross lesions of any organ, microscopical examination of the heart shows definite changes in the myocardium or in its interstitial tissue. The first change observed is a dilatation of the capillaries and small arteries. At a later stage capillary haemorrhages occur, and somewhat later oedema of the myocardium with dilatation of the lymphatics associated with prolifera- tion of their endothelial cells. Numerous lymphocytes are found in the oedematous areas, a fact which stamps the oedema as inflammatory, although no diplococci are found in the muscular walls. QEdema is most marked