Experimental studies on the passage of pathogenic bacteria through the kidney.

In order to settle the question whether bacteria can pass through the normal kidney, suspensions of 5 strains of pathogenic bacteria were injected into the ear veins of rabbits, samples of the bladder urine were obtained by direct puncture of the previously exposed bladder, and the urine samples were cultivated to test for bacteria, with the results to be summarized as follows: 1. Those results that the bladder urine remained constantly sterile throughout the period of examination after injection (from 0.5 to 7 hours after injection) were obtained from 8 cases with Mycobacterium tuberculosis, from 5 cases with B. typhosus, from 4 cases with Staphylococcus aureus of Tera-shima strain, and from 3 cases with that of Heatley strain, namely, from 20 cases out of 34 cases in total, which results are against the view that bacteria can pass through the normal kidney. 2. The bladder urine had been sterile for a short period of time after injection. In some cases they became positive for bacteria later on account of contamination of the urine with blood, which was caused by bleeding due to puncture of the bladder. 3. Most of the cases with B. pyocyaneus and only a few of the cases with Staphylococcus aureus of Terashima strain yielded the results that bac-teria were detected in advance of the appearance of erythrocytes. It has been demonstrated by a series of experiments of ligating the bilateral ureters that such a phenomenon may be seen with actively multiplying and well growing bacteria.