FAMILY VII. SPIRILLACEAE 



247 



je.ju'ni. L. adj. jejunus insignificant, 

 meagre; ALL. noun jejunuin the jejunum. 



Pleomorphic, occurring in three different 

 form.s in the same culture: the first forms 

 are short, slightly convoluted and activel}^ 

 motile with either a single polar flagellum 

 or a single flagellum at each pole; the sec- 

 ond are less active and have two or more 

 complete coils; the remaining forms are 

 extremely long and rarely motile. In older 

 cultures clumps occur, and these usually 

 degenerate into fragments and granules. 

 Gram-negative. 



Blood agar: Within 4 or 5 days the con- 

 densation fluid becomes slightly turbid; 

 delicate lines then appear at the border of 

 the agar. After several transfers these lines 

 Ijecome well defined, and a delicate film 

 spreads over the nether portion of the slant. 



Gelatin: Not liquefied. 



Coagulated blood serum not lifiuefied. 



Carbohydrates not utilized. 



Aerobic. 



Optimum pH, 7.6. No growth in either 

 slightly acid or definitely alkaline media. 



Temperature relations : Optimum, 37.5° C. 

 (Merchant, Vet. Bact. and Virology, 4th 

 cd., 1950, 343). Killed in 5 minutes at 55° C. 



Pathogenicity: Non-pathogenic to lab- 

 oratory animals under the usual conditions. 

 Some strains produce multiple necrotic foci 

 of the liver when injected intraperitoneally 

 into white mice. Febrile reactions are pro- 

 duced in rabbits when injected intrave- 

 nously with certain strains. The enteritis 

 produced experimentally in calves is less 

 severe than that occurring spontaneously. 



Source: Isolated from the small intestine 

 of calves suffering from diarrhoea. 



Habitat: Causes diarrhoea in cows and 

 calves where it is found in the small in- 

 testine and feces. 



33. Vibrio niger (Rist, 1898) Prevot, 

 1948. (Spirillum nigrum Rist, These med., 

 Paris, 1898; also see Cent. f. Bakt., I Abt., 

 30, 1901, 299; Prevot, Man. d. Classif. Bact. 

 Anaer., 2nd ed., 1948, 124.) 



ni'ger. L. adj. niger black. 



Description taken from Rist (op. cil., 

 1901, 299) and Hauduroy et al. (Diet. d. 

 Bact. Path., 2nd ed., 1953, 658). 



Long, slender, comma- or S-shaped cells 

 rounded at the ends; 1.0 to 2.0 by 3.0 mi- 

 crons. Motile. Possess a black granule which 

 swells the cell and which may be terminal. 

 Gram-negative. 



Glucose agar colonies: Lenticular, dark 

 black, opaque, 2 to 3 mm in diameter. 



Deep agar colonies: Lenticular, black, 

 cloudy; gas is produced. 



Deep blood serum agar colonies: Small, 

 thin, delicate, non-hemolytic. 



Brain medium: Blackened; hydrogen 

 sulfide, ethanol and butyric and lactic acids 

 are produced. 



Gelatin colonies: Black, opaque; putrid 

 odor. No liquefaction. 



Glucose broth: Dark gray turbidity; 

 putrid odor; gas and hydrogen sulfide are 

 produced. 



Peptone broth: Poor growth. 



Milk: Coagulated slowly then digested. 



Coagulated ascitic fluid: Not liquefied. 



Indole not produced. 



Hydrogen sulfide produced. 



Neutral red reduced. 



Obligate anaerobe. 



Temperature relations: Growth range, 

 21° to 37° C. Death occurs at 55° C. Can 

 withstand freezing. 



Pathogenicity: Fatal for guinea pigs in 

 two weeks; macroscopic lesions not demon- 

 strable. 



Source: Isolated from purulent otitis, 

 mastoiditis and pulmonary gangrene; also 

 isolated from cases of meningitis and appen- 

 dicitis. 



Habitat: Found rather frequently in man 

 under pathological conditions. 



34. Vibrio sputoruin Prevot, 1940. (An 

 anaerobic vibrio from bronchitis, Tunni- 

 cliff. Jour. Inf. Dis., 15, 1914, 350; A small 

 anaerobic vibrio from Vincent's angina. 

 Smith, ibid., Jfi, 1930, 307; Prevot, Man. de 

 Classif. des Bact. Anaer., Paris, 1940, 85.) 



spu.to'rum. L. noun sputum spit, spu- 

 tum; L. gen.pl. noun sputorum of sputa. 



Description taken from Prevot {loc. cit.) 

 and from Macdonald (Motile, Non-sporu- 

 lating. Anaerobic Rods of the Oral Cavity, 

 Toronto, 1953, 53). 



Straight or slightly curved rods, 0.5 to 



