﻿602 
  ANNUAL 
  REPOET 
  SMITHSONIAN 
  INSTITUTION, 
  192 
  9 
  

  

  its 
  significance 
  is 
  small 
  compared 
  to 
  the 
  by-product 
  it 
  yielded, 
  namely 
  

   the 
  pure 
  cultivation 
  of 
  the 
  class 
  of 
  spirochetal 
  microorganisms. 
  

  

  This 
  class 
  of 
  spiral 
  organisms 
  had 
  become 
  clinically 
  enhanced 
  in 
  

   importance 
  through 
  the 
  discovery 
  of 
  the 
  syphilis 
  and 
  yaws 
  spirals. 
  

   They, 
  together 
  mth 
  known 
  spirals 
  of 
  other 
  sorts 
  inhabiting 
  various 
  

   organs, 
  were 
  recognized 
  wholly 
  through 
  their 
  microscopic 
  characters. 
  

   All 
  efforts 
  to 
  secure 
  them 
  in 
  pure, 
  artificial 
  cultivation 
  had 
  failed. 
  

   Noguchi 
  set 
  himself 
  to 
  this 
  task, 
  which 
  he 
  accomplished 
  in 
  a 
  brilliant 
  

   manner. 
  The 
  entry 
  into 
  this 
  field 
  of 
  bacteriological 
  research 
  was 
  

   to 
  prove 
  his 
  most 
  important, 
  as 
  well 
  as 
  daring 
  venture, 
  because 
  so 
  

   many 
  of 
  his 
  subsequent 
  discoveries 
  were 
  reared 
  on 
  the 
  mastery 
  of 
  the 
  

   technical 
  means 
  of 
  cultivation 
  which 
  he 
  secured 
  in 
  working 
  with 
  the 
  

   spirochetae. 
  

  

  In 
  essence, 
  the 
  method 
  was 
  invented 
  by 
  Theobald 
  Smith, 
  and 
  it 
  

   consisted 
  in 
  employing 
  a 
  culture 
  medium 
  in 
  which 
  a 
  fragment 
  of 
  a 
  

   sterile, 
  normal 
  organ 
  (rabbit 
  kidney) 
  had 
  been 
  placed. 
  Noguchi 
  had 
  

   to 
  modify 
  the 
  original 
  medium 
  in 
  many 
  ways 
  to 
  adapt 
  it 
  to 
  the 
  

   cultivation 
  of 
  the 
  many 
  spiral 
  and 
  other 
  microorganisms 
  which 
  he 
  

   obtained 
  in 
  pure 
  form 
  for 
  the 
  first 
  time. 
  Even 
  for 
  the 
  class 
  of 
  spirals 
  

   the 
  culture 
  requirements 
  are 
  various, 
  while 
  when 
  the 
  method 
  was 
  

   applied 
  to 
  the 
  growth 
  of 
  still 
  other 
  organisms, 
  e. 
  g., 
  globoid 
  bodies 
  in 
  

   poliomyelitis. 
  Bacterium 
  granulosis 
  in 
  trachoma, 
  profound 
  modifica- 
  

   tions 
  became 
  necessary. 
  Still 
  it 
  remains 
  true 
  that 
  he 
  found 
  in 
  the 
  

   principle 
  of 
  employing 
  fresh, 
  sterile 
  tissues 
  in 
  addition 
  to 
  the 
  more 
  

   common 
  culture 
  media, 
  as 
  introduced 
  by 
  Doctor 
  Smith, 
  the 
  key 
  

   which 
  was 
  to 
  unlock 
  many 
  bacteriological 
  doors 
  previously 
  unopened. 
  

  

  The 
  cultivation 
  of 
  the 
  parasitic 
  spirals, 
  including 
  the 
  syphilis 
  

   spiral, 
  proved, 
  of 
  course, 
  clinically 
  most 
  significant; 
  but 
  in 
  addition 
  

   to 
  more 
  than 
  half 
  a 
  dozen 
  pathogenic 
  species, 
  he 
  cultivated 
  pure 
  for 
  

   the 
  first 
  time 
  as 
  many 
  merely 
  saprophytic 
  species 
  living 
  in 
  or 
  on 
  the 
  

   bodies 
  of 
  animals. 
  The 
  culture 
  of 
  the 
  syphilis 
  spiral 
  was 
  made 
  to 
  

   yield 
  luetin, 
  a 
  soluble 
  extract 
  based 
  on 
  tuberculin, 
  of 
  use 
  in 
  detecting 
  

   latent 
  and 
  congenital 
  syphilis. 
  

  

  There 
  is 
  no 
  better 
  incident 
  than 
  this 
  to 
  bring 
  out 
  Noguchi's 
  almost 
  

   faultless 
  and 
  infinitely 
  varied 
  technical 
  sldll. 
  The 
  culture 
  medium 
  

   we 
  are 
  considering 
  is 
  not 
  only 
  very 
  variable 
  in 
  itself, 
  because 
  of 
  the 
  

   chemical 
  complexity 
  of 
  the 
  materials 
  entering 
  into 
  its 
  composition, 
  

   and 
  therefore 
  exceedingly 
  difficult 
  to 
  keep 
  approximately 
  constant, 
  

   but 
  it 
  demands 
  constant 
  modification 
  in 
  order 
  to 
  adapt 
  it 
  to 
  the 
  

   many 
  organisms 
  the 
  cultivation 
  of 
  which 
  he 
  accomplished 
  through 
  

   its 
  use. 
  It 
  is 
  no 
  wonder, 
  therefore, 
  that 
  so 
  many 
  of 
  Noguchi's 
  would- 
  

   be 
  followers 
  have 
  failed 
  in 
  their 
  efforts. 
  Several 
  years 
  had, 
  indeed, 
  

   to 
  elapse 
  before 
  his 
  work 
  was 
  repeated 
  by 
  others 
  and 
  began 
  to 
  become 
  

   widely 
  fruitful. 
  The 
  belief 
  became 
  current 
  that 
  the 
  methods 
  had 
  not 
  

   been 
  fully 
  disclosed. 
  There 
  is 
  no 
  doubt 
  that 
  Noguchi 
  did 
  always 
  

  

  