EXPERIMENTAL SYPHILIS IN THE RABBIT

Abstract

In a series of more than 200 rabbits in which generalized lesions were observed following local inoculation with Treponema pallidum, there were a number of animals in which characteristic lesions were noted upon mucous membranes or along mucocutaneous borders. These lesions were distributed with about equal frequency between the nose or nasolacrimal system and the eyelids on the one hand, and the genital and anal regions on the other. The lips and buccal mucosa appeared to be less subject to localized infections unless the papillomatous growths noted on the lips and under side of the tongue should prove to be in some way connected with such an infection. In many instances, the local reaction was initiated by an acute inflammatory process, and in the case of nasal and genital infections, a definite exudate was formed. The succeeding stages of the reaction consisted in an infiltration of the parts involved, together with a variable degree of proliferation of fixed tissue cells, leading eventually to necrosis and ulceration. The resulting lesions differed according to their location and the character of the reaction in the individual case. Localized infections of the nose occurred in several forms, first, as a rather diffuse affection of the nasal mucosa characterized by the presence of a mucopurulent exudate, second, as a more or less circumscribed process of infiltration with an especial predilection for the region of the anterior nares, and third, as a granulomatous process involving the alæ in particular. Involvement of the nasal mucosa was very commonly associated with lacrimal overflow and with some degree of conjunctivitis. The lesions of the eyelids were usually small, elevated papules or lesions of an ulcerative character some of which were surrounded by a zone of infiltration. In exceptional instances, large granulomatous lesions occurred along the margins of the lower lids. Infection of the penis and sheath gave rise to conditions analogous to those of the nose. In one group of animals, there was a diffuse affection characterized by redness and swelling of the parts with a mucopurulent exudate, in another there were circumscribed or diffuse infiltrations, while in a third the lesions formed were indurated granulomatous masses. Secondary necrosis with erosion or ulceration was a common feature of all these conditions. Localized infections in the region of the anus differed from those in other localities chiefly in the absence of an exudative group of affections and in the frequency with which lesions of a papillomatous type occurred. Lesions of mucous membranes and mucocutaneous borders developed at periods of time varying from a few weeks to several months after inoculation. Most of them were rather enduring and in several instances persisted in an active condition for considerably more than a year.