Pathogenic Bacteria

204 PA THOGEN/C BA CTERIA.

latent in the urethra, and cause a relapse if the patient
partake of some substance, as alcohol, irritating to the
mucous membranes. Bearing this in mind, patients
should not too soon be discharged as cured.

The gonococci are not easily killed, but withstand dry-
ing very well. Kratter was able to demonstrate their
presence upon washed clothing six months after the orig-
inal soiling, and also found that they still stained well.

Bumm found cocci similar to the gonococcus in the
urethra, and points out that neither the shape nor the
position in the cells is positively characteristic, but that,
in addition, there must be refusal to stain by Gram's
method before we can say with certainty that cocci found
in urethral pus are gonococci.

All of the urethral inflammations do not depend upon
the gonococcus, and in true gonorrhea all of the inflam-
matory symptoms do not depend upon the gonococcus, as
the epithelial denudation following the disease permits
the entrance of the common pus cocci of the urethra into
the peri-iiretliral tissues. The peri-urethral abscesses and
salpingitis, etc., not infrequently depend upon the ordi-
nary pus cocci, and I have seen a case of gonorrhea with
double orchitis and general septic infection, with endo-
carditis, in which the gonococci had no role in the sep-
sis, which was caused by a large dumbbell-coccus that
stained beautifully by Gram's method.

MUMPS, OR EPIDEMIC PAROTITIS.

This epidemic, infectious disease of childhood, charac-
terized by enlargement of the parotid and submaxillary
glands, and rarely of the testicles, ovaries, and mammtc,
has not been proved to have a specific micro-organism.

Pasteur thought the disease due to bacilli which he
found in the blood. Capitan and Charrin1 and Olivier
found in the blood, urine, and saliva both cocci and ba-
cilli, but their studies are too early, and hence too crude
to be of any value.

1 Comptes Rendu Soc. de Bioc. de Paris, May 28, i8'8i.