The knowledge that the gall-bladder may become a habitat for B. typhosus and account for "chronic bacillus-carriers" has stimulated considerable search for a drug which will disinfect the biliary passages. Studies of Mosler, Meder, and Vieillard have shown that certain substances like potassium iodid, sodium salicylate, and mercuric chlorid are excreted in the bile, but none is excreted in concentration sufficient to be serviceable.
Crowe, in 1908, chose hexamethylenamin for his experiments because (1) of its known effect on typhoid bacilluria (Richardson; Churchman) and (2) of its easy recognition. Crowe's experiments on dogs showed that the drug, administered by mouth, was rapidly absorbed and remained in the circulating blood in recoverable amounts for twenty-four hours. He found it in the bile, secreted not only by the liver, but also, in even larger amounts, by the way of the gall-bladder itself.
Applying these results therapeutically in a number of human cases