TECHNIQUE. 39 



The typical staining reaction of the chromatin makes 

 it easy to follow the changes occurring in the nucleus 

 during the various reproductive processes. For this 

 purpose no other method gives as good results as 

 the use of carefully stained specimens. 



The great advantage of the use of stained sections 

 of tissue lies in the knowledge which they furnish us 

 regarding the exact relation of amoebae to the patho- 

 logical conditions present in the tissues examined. 

 Thus in sections of the intestine from patients dying 

 of amoebic dysentery the stained sections demonstrate 

 the undoubted etiological relationship of the amoebae 

 to certain of the lesions present, and this is also true 

 of sections of the liver in which abscesses due to these 

 organisms are found. In no other way can we as 

 well demonstrate the relationship of amoebae to the 

 lesions which they produce in man. 



THE EXAMINATION OF LIVING AMGEB^E. A very 

 small portion of a freshly passed stool should be 

 placed upon a microscopic slide and covered with a 

 cover glass, gentle pressure being used to spread the 

 specimen. The material selected for examination 

 should preferably be a drop of the liquid portion 

 of the stool rather than solid particles. It is always 

 well to give a saline cathartic before making an 

 examination as this tends to wash the amoebae from 

 the intestinal walls. If present, a particle of mucus 



