On a remarkable bacteriolytic element found in tissues and secretions

Abstract

In this communication I wish to draw attention to a substance present in the tissues and secretions of the body, which is capable of rapidly dissolving certain bacteria. As this substance has properties akin to those of ferments I have called it a “Lysozyme,” and shall refer to it by this name throughout the communication. The lysozyme was first noticed during some investigations made on a patient suffering from acute coryza. The nasal secretion of this patient was cultivated daily on blood agar plates, and for the first three days of the infection there was no growth, with the exception of an occasional staphylococcus colony. The culture made from the nasal mucus on the fourth day showed in 24 hours a large number of small colonies which, on examination, proved to be large gram-positive cocci arranged irregularly but with a tendency to diplococcal and tetrad formation. It is necessary to give here a very brief description of this microbe as with it most of the experiments described below were done, and it was with it that the phenomena to be described were best manifested. The microbe has not been exactly identified, but for purposes of this communication it may be alluded to as the Micrococcus lysodeikticus.