466 



ORDER IV. EUBACTERIALES 



Source: Isolated from pus in wounds. 



Habitat: Found particularly on nasal 

 mucous membrane and skin (hair follicles). 

 The cause, outstandingly, of furunculosis, 

 pyaemia, osteomyelitis, suppuration of 

 wounds, and food poisoning. Very common. 



2. Staphylococcus epidermidis (Wins- 

 low and Winslow, 1908) Evans, 1916. {Staph- 

 ylococcus epidermidis albus Welch, Amer. 

 Jour. Med. Sci., Phila., 102 (N.S.), 1891, 

 441; Albococcus epidermidis Winslow and 

 Winslow, The Systematic Relationships of 

 the Coccaceae, New York, 1908, 201; Evans, 

 Jour. Inf. Dis., 15, 1916, 849; Micrococcus 

 epidermidis Hucker, N. Y. Agr. Exp. Sta. 

 Tech. Bull. 102, 1924, 21.) 



e.pi.der'mi.dis. Gr. noun epidermis the 

 outer skin; M.L. gen. noun epidermidis of the 

 epidermis. 



Spheres, 0.5 to 0.6 micron in diameter, 

 occurring singly, in pairs and in irregular 

 groups. Non-motile. Gram-positive. 



Gelatin stab: White surface growth with 

 slow saccate liquefaction. 



Agar colonies: Circular, smooth; generally 

 pale, translucent white. 



Broth (containing a fermentable carbohy- 



drate) : Heavy, uniform turbidity; ring pel- 

 licle. 



Litmus milk: Acid. 



Acid is usually produced from glucose, 

 fructose, maltose, sucrose, trehalose and 

 glycerol. Acid may be produced from man- 

 nose, galactose and lactose. No acid from 

 xylose, arabinose, raflfinose, inulin, sorbitol 

 or mannitol. 



Amino acids are required as a source of 

 nitrogen. 



Some of the B vitamins, usually including 

 biotin, are required for growth. 



Nitrites produced from nitrates. 



Catalase-positive. 



Aerobic, facultatively anaerobic. 



Grows readily at 37° C. 



Very salt tolerant, growing vigorously in 

 media containing 10 per cent NaCl. 



Parasitic rather than pathogenic. 



Distinctive characters: Coagulase-nega- 

 tive. Ferments glucose but not mannitol 

 under anaerobic conditions. 



Source: Originally isolated from small 

 stitch-abscesses and other skin wounds. 



Habitat: Skin and mucous membranes of 

 man and other animals. 



Genus III. Gaflfkya Trevisan, 1885.* 



(Trevisan, Atti d. Accad. Fi.sio-Medico-Statistica in Milano, Ser 4, 3, 1885, 106; 

 Tetracoccus von Klecki, Cent. f. Bakt., 15, 1894, 360.) 



Gaff'ky.a. M.L. fem.n. Gaffkya named for Prof. Georg Gaffky, a German bacteriologist. 



Occur in the animal body and in special media as tetrads, while in ordinary culture media 

 the cells occur in pairs and irregular masses. Gram-positive. Aerobic to facultatively anaero- 

 bic. Parasitic. 



The type species is Gaffkya tetragena (Gaffky) Trevisan. 



Key to the species of genus GaflFkya. 



I. White, viscid growth on potato. Found in the mucous membranes of the respiratory 

 tract. 



1. Gaffkya tetragena. 

 II. No growth on potato. Causes a disease of lobsters. 



2. Gaffkya homari. 



1. Gaflfkya tetragena (Gaffky, 1883) 

 Trevisan, 1885. {Micrococcus tetragenus 

 Gaffky, Arch. f. Chirurg., 28, 1883, 500; 

 Trevisan, Atti d. Accad. Fisio-Medico- 

 Statistica in Milano, Ser. 4, 3, 1885, 106.) 



tet.ra'ge.na. Gr. pref. tetra- four; Gr. v. 

 gennaio to produce; M.L. adj. tetragenus pro- 

 duced in fours. 



Spheres, 0.6 to 0.8 microns in diameter, 

 with a pseudocapsule (in body fluids) sur- 



* Revised by Prof. G. J. Hucker, New York State Experiment Station, Geneva, New 

 York, March 1943; further revision, November, 1955. 



