EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDIES ON RESPIRATORY INFECTIONS OF THE RABBIT : VI. ETIOLOGY OF OTITIS MEDIA.

A common form of otitis media occurring in rabbits is described. The condition in the great majority of instances is associated with the inflammation of the upper respiratory tract known as snuffles and with the presence of Bacterium lepisepticum. This organism, when introduced into the external nares of rabbits hitherto protected from infection with it, is capable of inducing a purulent otitis media indistinguishable from the natural one. In the rabbit the connection between the nasal passages and the middle ear is such that a pathogenic agent introduced into the nose may readily invade the entire group of cavities connected with the upper respiratory tract.