Notes. 413 



very beautiful slides. The heads appeared much more elongated ; 

 and there was distinctly less distance between bead and bead ; in 

 brief, it was evident that the cell contents were being more per- 

 fectly stained. 



Quite recently further improvements in the methods of staining 

 have permitted a still better picture of the bacillus to be obtained, 

 as fig. 81 illustrates. 



A unit cell now appears to be square ended, showing that its 

 contents have been pretty fully stained, the apparent distance 

 between one cell and the next is much reduced, and the whole 

 bacillus looks something like a jointed bamboo ; the resolution of 

 these joints has now become more difficult, and can no longer be 

 performed by quite low powers. At one end a flagellum is seen ; 

 this flagellum is very similar both in its appearance and also with 

 regard to its visibility, to that of the cholera bacillus, which I 

 figured in the " British Medical Journal " for May 1885, p. 878. 



6 



a 



o 







Fig. 79. FlG. SO. Fig. 81. 



Only a single flagellum is seen in fig. 81 ; there were many 

 similar examples on the slide, but it is only after some searching 

 that a bacillus with a visible flagellum can be found. It requires, 

 however, a very formidable search to find one with a flagellum 

 visible at both ends. On one specimen I thought I glimpsed a 

 second flagellum, and perhaps also on another besides, but an 

 example thoroughly typical of many others on the slide was 

 selected for illustration. The preparation was of sputum from a 

 phthisical patient. 



The specimen in fig. 81 is of average size. 



Length without flagellum S( ;Vo m - =2*94/4 

 „ of flagellum . 20400 " =1 ' 24 » 

 „ of one joint . 5^0 » = °" 71 » 



Breadth . . . 7 3500 » ="=0"34„ 



The joint measured is one of the larger ones. 



The W. A. was ■ 95, the length corrected for anti point* is, there- 

 fore, - 8 ^ 00 - in. = 3-03 ft, and the breadth .-, 7 !,„- n - i». = 0-44 /a. 



The figures are drawn with a magnification of 5000 diameters. 



Since this was written many tubercle bacilli with a flagellum 

 at each end have been observed. 



* J.R.M.S., 1903, pp. 579-82, and 1904, p. 271. 



