176 THE MICROSCOPE. 



may be seen bladder epithelium, single and in patches; groups of 

 leucine spheres of a yellow color, with well-defined, outlines and 

 concentric markings, as shown at the left and center; tyrocine 

 needles in stars and sheaves, and abundant octahedra of calcium 

 oxalate. — Leonard's Illustrated Medical Journal, Detroit. 



The Practical Value of the Bacillus Tuberculosis. — 

 While the wordy warfare wages concerning the causative properties 

 of this bacillus, it is well for us to gather together whatsoever we 

 may of practical value in our every-day work, concerning it. 



Dr. G. A. Heron, who recently delivered a lecture on the sub- 

 ject, {British Medical Journal, April 28, 1883,) has found the bacilli 

 in the sputa of 116 patients, all of whom presented, sooner or later, 

 what he considered unmistakable evidences of consumption. He 

 has not yet seen a case, with absolutely no signs of lung mischief, in 

 which he has detected the bacillus of tubercle in the sputum. He 

 has found them in the sputum of a patient in whom there were no 

 signs of lung disease, but where, after a time, consumption mani- 

 fested itself, which condition was verified post mortem. From his 

 own experience and the authorities he quotes, it would seem reason- 

 ably fair to assume that when the bacilli tuberculosis are found in 

 the sputum, it is a pretty strong indication that the patient is either 

 threatened with, or actually has consumption, and when, in connec- 

 tion with their presence, physical signs exist, the diagnosis can be 

 made with considerable accuracy. 



When very plentiful, the prognosis is unfavorable, and vice 

 versa. 



Wherefore it would seem that whenever we have any cause to 

 suspect tubercular troubles, as in long-delayed convalescence after 

 pneumonia or in otherwise unaccountable prostration, and the like, 

 it behooves us to make a microscopical examination of the sputum 

 for bacilli; if we find them, we can enjoin the usual precautions and 

 advice for consumption, which, to say the least, will be harmless, 

 even though the disease does not exist. 



Whether these bacilli are really the cause, per se, of consump- 

 tion, we do not yet know; but if they afford us, as it would seem 

 that they do, a means of detecting the disease in its incipiency, an 

 acquaintance with them is a very valuable acquisition to our knowl- 



