TESTICULAR INFUSION AGAR— A STERILIZABLE 

 CULTURE MEDIUM FOR THE GONOCOCCUS 



IVAN C. HALL 



From the Hearst Laboratory of Pathology and Bacteriology, 

 University of California^ 



INTRODUCTION 



The use of testicular infusion agar suggested by Hirschfelder 

 (1914) aroused the hope that a medium for the cultivation 

 of the gonococcus had been found which might be sterilized 

 by steam, thus avoiding the addition of raw albumin (ascitic 

 fluid or blood) to agar with its uncertain sterility and frequent 

 failure to support growth even when sterile. Unfortunately 

 I cannot agree that by the use of his formula all difficulties in 

 cultivating the gonococcus (at least in pure culture) are removed, 

 as he claims. I have however, determined some of the factors 

 affecting successsful cultivation of gonococci in comparatively 

 large quantities upon a sterilizable agar containing infusion of 

 testicle. 



Vannod (1905) claimed that proper adjustment of the re- 

 action with sodium carbonate facilitated cultivation of the 

 gonococcus on so called ordinary media but the possible varia- 

 tion from the optimum is so sHght that the method has not come 

 into general use. One of Vannod's later contributions (1907) 

 testifies to the general acceptance of the idea of the necessity 

 of adding raw albumins. 



More recently some success in improving the media has been 

 attained by Schwarz and McNeil (1912) in this country with so 

 called ''salt free" veal agar, which is now generally used in the 

 preparation of polyvalent antigens for the alexin fixation test. 



' The experimental work of this paper was carried out and its practical appli- 

 cation made in The Cutter Laboratories, Berkeley, California, and it is pub- 

 lished with the consent of the Director, Dr. H. E. Foster. 



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