vii.] MICROCOCCUS. 81 



Office, a series of important experiments on the micro- 

 organisms discovered by Schiiller and Rosenbach. He 

 collected pus from five cases of acute osteomyelitis in which 

 the abscesses had not been opened, and cultivated the micro- 

 cocci contained in it on sterilised potatoes, coagulated serum, 

 and gelatine-peptone. In the latter case, the pus was intro- 

 duced by means of needles into the mass, which was then 

 kept at the temperature of the room during three or five 

 days. After that time, the punctures made by the needles 

 assumed the appearance of white streaks, around which the 

 gelatine gradually liquefied and took an orange colour. 

 After a few days more, the mass gave out a smell like sour 

 paste, and the microscope revealed the presence of large 

 numbers of micrococci, having the same appearance as those 

 found in the pus. A small quantity of the mass was mixed 

 with sterilised water and injected into the peritoneal cavity 

 of some animals ; they died in a very short time of acute 

 peritonitis. The same fluid injected into the jugular vein 

 caused acute septicaemia and death ; but nothing abnormal 

 was found in the bones in either case. Dr. Becker then in- 

 jected a small quantity of the same fluid into the jugular 

 veins of fifteen rabbits, after having, some days before, 

 fractured or bruised the bone of one of the hind legs. At 

 the end of the first week a swelling was formed at the seat 

 of the bruise or fracture, the animals lost flesh, and died 

 after a few days. On dissection, large abscesses were found 

 around and in the bones, and in several cases metastatic 

 abscesses had formed in the lungs and kidneys. Numerous 

 colonies of micrococci were discovered in the blood and pus 

 of the animals upon which the experiments were made. 

 This micrococcus is identical with the micrococcus pyogenes 

 aureus of Rosenbach. When growing on Agar-Agar mixture 

 it forms flat irregular patches of an orange colour. 



G 



