Microbic Diseases Individually Considered. 163 



ified. Agar is well adapted to its culture ; on this me- 

 dium it forms a whitish track wath festooned borders 

 and extends through all the nutritive mass through 

 the breaking up of the latter bv the liberated gases. 

 In bouillon the bacilli are undulated or straight; at 

 first homogeneous, they later become granular and 

 break up. Some of the elements become sporulated; 

 the spore most frequently appears at a swollen ex- 

 tremity of the bacillus and gives to the latter the ap- 

 pearance of a bell clapper. When cultivated upon 

 solid media the bacilli are shorter, and fructification 

 is more delayed. 



Inoculation of culture media should be made either 

 from the peritoneal serosity or from the blood of 

 septicsemic subjects. But as the blood contains very 

 few germs immediately after death, it is necessary, 

 for the inoculation to be successful, to allow them to 

 multiply there. For this end a little blood is inclosed 

 in a pipette and kept in the incubator for twenty-four 

 hours ; multiplication of the bacilli takes place and 

 soon shows itself by the appearance of bubbles of 

 gas. The blood may then be employed for the in- 

 oculation of artificial media. Muscle juice can be 

 used for the same purpose. 



Research and coloration. — Examination should be 

 made of the serosity of the oedema or of the septi- 

 cseniic focus, of the blood, peritoneal serosity, and 

 muscle juice. By studying fresh unstained prepara- 

 tions we can appreciate the movements of the bacilli 

 which wind among the elements of the blood or se- 

 rosity ; it will be noticed that the rods in the center of 

 the preparation preserve their motility much longer 



