Pathogenic Bacteria

SUPPURA TION. 207

In spite of the small number of cases studied, they
were of the opinion that their coccus is the specific one.
Its is about i fj. in size and resembles the gonococcus,
though it is smaller. The cocci generally lie in the
cells, sometimes 8 or 10 in one pus cell, and are occasion-
ally distributed throughout the pus in long chains or
strings. They stain readily with the usual aniliu dyes,
especially with Loffler's methylene-blue, and can be
decolorized by the Gram method. They grow slowly
upon the ordinary media, forming living, transparent,
dew-like points on agar-agar. These little drops do not
coalesce. In peptone-bouillon they form white, rather
granular than flocculent deposit, the bouillon itself re-
maining clear. The growth is said to be more rapid in
strongly than feebly alkaline media. The cocci are said
to grow upon ascites-fluid and upon milk, the latter coag-
ulating in the course of forty-eight hours. They are
capable of slight movement. Numerous inoculation ex-
periments were made, only one animal, a white mouse,
succumbing. Control-experiments failed to disclose "the
same organisms in the healthy human parotid or its se-
cretion.

All the observers agree in finding in the secretions of
the gland and in the blood diplococci that grow slowly,
produce small colonies, aiid coagulate milk. No one has
shown their specificity by inoculation, evidence of course
necessary before the claim of real importance can be
accepted.