OXYGEN/BLOOD SUPPLY AND VIRULENCE 15R9-1690


TRAUMA AND RESPIRATION 15R9-1690


RIGHT VENTRICLE, REASON FOR LESIONS IN  15R9-1690


"Streptococci of low virulence but highly sensitive to oxygen are


found to produce lesions in tissues whose blood supply and


therefore oxygen and food requirements are low (heart valves,


tendinous portion of muscles and the structures about joints). 


Streptococci of greater virulence are found to produce lesions in


tissues whose blood supply and therefore oxygen and food


requirements are high (kidney, lung, etc.); hence localization and


production of injury seem to be closely related to the amount of


available oxygen in a given tissue.  The fact that lesions occurred


far more frequently in the right ventricle (containing venous


blood) than in the left ventricle (containing oxygenated blood) is


in accord with this hypothesis.  Might not the predisposing action


of trauma (locus minoris resistentiae), of exposure to cold and of


a drunken bout, to infection be best explained on the basis of lack


of oxygen?  The changes observed, as hemorrhage, cloudy swelling


and necrosis, from a purely chemical as well as from a colloid-


chemical point of view, are identical with the changes of tissue


asphyxia. I have found that pneumococci when grown and autolyzed


under anaerobic conditions produce a much larger quantity of toxic


material than when grown or autolyzed under aerobic conditions. 


Moreover, pneumococcus extracts proved to be toxic to warm-blooded


animals (guinea-pigs), have the same inhibitory effect on the


development of fertilized eggs of arbacia as does lack of oxygen. 


Since bacteria and their products are powerful reducing agents, one


of the ciief effects of the bacteria and their products very likely


is interference with the normal cell respiration, and possibly the


greater the virulence the more powerful this interference."