310 BACTERIA IN THE SPUTA 



passed) ; but they evidently denote their invasion in situ in the 

 bladder or the urethra. Of course, the invasion has happened by 

 a slow, progressive motion of the relative elements or germs, 

 either along the mucus coating, or from one epithelian scale to 

 another, and so forth. 



In certain urine, round the small flakes or spires of mucus of 

 the male urethra, clods of Leptothrix are met, at times, so large as 

 to occupy the whole visual field of an objective (Nos. 7 or 8 of 

 Hartnack). Such clods are so closely similar to the young clods 

 of the patina dentaria, that the most experienced investigator 

 would be unable to distinguish one from another. 



Lately, I observed a case of this kind in the urine of a patient 

 affected with chronic pyelitis, having already been subject to 

 several attacks of Blennorrhoea. I placed two of these small 

 flakes in a closed tube with a little of the urine, and for six days I 

 kept them adhering to the internal wall, wetting them gently once 

 or twice a day by inclining the tube. On the sixth day the mate- 

 rial of these small flakes, prepared and stained with gentian violet, 

 like the patina defitaria, exhibited exactly all the forms of Lep- 

 tothrix buccalis, with the exception of the productions by points 

 (perhaps spoiled in the preparation). Undoubtedly, it contained 

 countless bacilli, both comma and spindle-like, rather small, and 

 in brisk activity ; even a fair number of small ears was to be found 

 there. Briefly, all forms of bacteria and bacilli, chain-like fila- 

 ments, and bundles, described in Leptothrix buccalis (except the 

 Jodococcus vaginatus) were likewise there ; and the staining also 

 showed that not even the spirilla or spii-ochoeta^ mostly in motion, 

 were wanting. 



Between these forms of Leptothrix and those of the mouth, 

 the only difference is that the filaments, bundles, and chains are 

 shorter and the spirilla extremely slender, but longer. In all other 

 particulars they were perfectly identical.* 



* Our present remarks about the multiplicity of the microbes of Blennor- 

 rhoea and the presence of spirilla in urethral secretion have been confirmed by 

 the research of Legrain, On Blenorrhcea microbes. That author found in the flow 

 of gonorrhoea 12 different forms of cocci, 3 distinct forms of bacilli, and i spi- 

 rillicform: total, 16 forms of microbes ( Archiv f Dermatologie u. Syphilis, 

 1890). Stroganoff has recently dealt with the bacteria of the vagina and cervi- 

 cal canal. — {Modern Medicine a)id Bacteriological World, Oct., 1893, p. 258.) 



