Abstract
It has been concluded by Mason, Davidson, et al, 1 that aseptic autolysis of the animal's own liver placed in the free peritoneal cavity, under aseptic conditions, causes death of the animal in 15 to 18 hours. This work has been repeated by Wangensteen and Waldron, 2 with essentially the same conclusions.
In our first series of experiments the blood supply to the small lobe of the liver to the left of the gallbladder was ligated, and the liver left in situ. Careful aseptic technique was practiced. All of these animals died in 12 to 20 hours. Blood chemical studies were made of the non-protein nitrogen, the urea nitrogen, and the whole blood chlorides. No significant changes were noted in the blood chemistry. At autopsy the ligated lobe of liver was always gray-brown friable, necrotic, and often contained gas. In only one instance was a culture of the liver made at post-mortem. A Gram positive, spore bearing, anaerobic organism was obtained.
In a second series of experiments the entire liver of an animal was removed under aseptic technique, and pieces carefully cultured. All cultures of fresh liver were positive for a Gram positive anaerobic bacterium, except in 2 instances. Such fresh liver was placed, using careful aseptic technique, either into the peritoneal cavity, or between the muscles of the abdominal wall of other animals. Death of the animals followed in 18 to 30 hours. At autopsy the liver was gray-brown, necrotic, friable, and gas-containing. Anaerobic bacteria were present in all cultures of the liver. Chemical blood studies revealed no significant change.
The autolytic enzymes of fresh liver were destroyed by heating to a temperature of 75°-80° C. for 15 to 20 minutes. A Gram positive anaerobic organism was cultured from the liver after heating Placing such liver into the abdominal wall or into the peritoneal cavity caused death of the animals in 24 to 36 hours. The anaerobic organism was identified at post-mortem. The liver at post-mortem was firm, gray-brown and smooth.
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