680 BACTERIUM 



FriedlJlnder's bacillus 



Synonyms. — Pneumobacillus, Bad. friedldnderi, Bad. pneumonias, B. pneumonias, B. 

 mncosus capsulatus, Encapsulatus pnevmonice, Klebsiella pneumoniae. 



Isolation. — Isolated by Friedlander in 1883 from the lungs of patients dying of pneumonia. 



Habitat. — Chiefly a parasite. Found in the nose, mouth, and intestine of normal persons ; 

 in the lungs of patients with pneumonia, influenza, and tuberculosis, and other 

 respiratory diseases ; and in suppurative conditions of other parts of the body. 



Morphology. — Short, thick, oval rod, about 1-2 /^ long and 0-5-0-8 /i broad. Axis straight, 

 sides parallel or bulging, ends rounded, arranged singly and in pairs end-to-end. 

 Some strains are highly pleomorphic, curved rods, sausage forms, and long wavy 

 filaments being found in culture ; in the body diplobacilli, very like pneumococci, 

 are commonest. Considerable variation in staining, particularly of pleomorphic 

 forms. Non-motile. A capsule is present even in cultures ; it contains a nitrogen- 

 free polysaccharide of glucose. Gram-negative. 



Agar Plale.^^A hours at 37° C. Round, amorphous, convex, greyish-white, faintly 

 translucent, mucoid colonies, 1-2 mm. in diameter, with smooth, gUstening surface 

 and entire edge ; consistency mucoid, emulsifiability easy. 7 days, larger, from 

 3-10 mm. in diameter, raised, with flattened surface, sometimes studded with 

 secondary colonies, and slightly undulate edge ; sometimes differentiated into an 

 opaque porcelain-white centre and a less opaque, jelly-coloured periphery showing 

 more translucent radial sectors. A non-mucoid variant occurs. 



Agar Slope. — 24 hours at 37° C. Abundant, raised, faintly translucent, greyish-yellow, 

 mucoid, almost diffluent growth, with glistening, smooth or beaten-copper surface, 

 and entire or undulate edge. 



Gelatin Stab. — 7 days at 20° C. Moderate, filiform, greyish-white growth, confluent in 

 the upper part, extending to bottom of tube. Convex, mucoid surface growth 

 about 3 mm. in diameter — nail-headed appearance. No liquefaction, even after 

 4 weeks, but a large napiform gas bubble often appears near the surface. Some- 

 times numerous lateral outgrowths occur from the stab after 3 or 4 weeks. 



Broth. — 24 hours at 37° C. Moderate growth with moderate uniform turbidity, and a 

 slight, powdery deposit disintegrating easily. Ring growth at surface. 7 days, 

 heavy turbidity with abundant, viscous deposit ; marked ring growth. The 

 culture is viscous in consistency. 



Glucose Agar Shake. — 24 hours at 37° C. Multiple tiny colonies throughout medium, 

 more numerous near the top. Medium is torn into rifts with gas. 



Horse Blood Agar Plate. — 24 hours at 37° C. Convex, milky-white colonies, 1 mm. in 

 diameter, with smooth surface and entire edge. No haemolysis, but plate is browned. 



MacConkey's Agar. — 24 hours at 37° C. Reddish colonies, 1-3 mm. in diameter. 7 days, 

 round, convex or umbonate, red colonies with smooth surface and entire or lobate 

 edge. 



MacConkey's Fluid Medium. — 7 days at 37° C. Moderate turbidity ; magenta colour ; 

 sometimes gas formation. 



Potato. — 24 hours at 37° C. Yellowish, confluent, mucoid growth. 7 days, abundant, 

 raised, mucoid, creamy, buff-yellow, or cafe-au-lait growth, with smooth, slightly 

 pitted, or nodular surface. 



Resistance. — Killed by moist heat at 55° C. in half an hour. Cultures at room temperature 

 live for months. 



Metabolism. — Aerobe. Very sUght growth in 10 days under strict anaerobic conditions. 

 Grows luxuriantly in culture. No haemolysis of sheep's or horse's red cells. Ten- 

 dency to form brownish pigment on potato. 



Biochemical. — Highly variable. Acid, and generally gas, in glucose, maltose, mannitol, 

 lactose, sucrose, and salicin. Inositol is said to be fermented. L.M. acid, or 

 acid and clot. Indole =F ; M.R. -[- ; V.P. — ; nitrates reduced; NHg -| — |- ; 



