Survival of clostridial spores in animal tissues.

Spores injected intravenously into mice in numbers in excess of 10(2)/g of body weight were initially dispersed to most organs, but after a few days the remaining spores were concentrated in the liver, from which they were eliminated with a half-life of about 6 days. Intraperitoneal injection did not result in contamination of organs unless initial spore numbers exceeded 10(5)/g of body weight, in which case the spores behaved in the same manner as those injected intravenously. Oral administration of spores did not result in any contamination of tissues.