238 SPECIFIC MICRO-ORGANISMS 



Oidium Albicans (Monilia Candida). The thrush fungus 

 was discovered by von Langenbeck in 1839 and by Berg in 1841, 

 but the popular recognition of a relation between this disease and 

 a mold seems to have preceded this discovery by many years. 

 Berg (1841) transferred the fungus from cases of thrush to healthy 

 children with positive results. His work was confirmed by numer- 

 ous other investigators (1842-43). Robin (1847) accurately 

 described the parasite, with illustrations, classed it as an oidium, 

 and gave it the name Oidiym albicans (1853). Grawitz (1877) 

 obtained the first pure cultures and successfully inoculated rab- 

 bits and puppies with them. 



In the throat lesion as well as in cultures the organism con- 

 sists of mycelial threads and oval yeast-like cells. It grows read- 



FIG. 95. Oidium albicans. Mycelial thread with four ripe chlamydospores; and 

 conidia in the middle of the picture. (After Plant.} 



ily on various artificial media and the appearance of the growth is 

 quite variable, not only because of the proportional relation 

 between the oval cells and the threads, but also in pigmen- 

 tation and in density of growth. Two varieties, one liquefying 

 gelatin and producing large (5^) oval conidia, and the other failing 

 to liquefy gelatin and producing small (2.5^) spherical conidia 

 are distinguished. 



Thrush is most common on the buccal mucous membrane of 

 young infants, but it also occurs on the vaginal mucosa of preg- 

 nant women, and it may attack others when weakened by dis- 

 ease, especially diabetics. The disease also occurs naturally in 

 birds, calves and foals. The threads of the mold penetrate the 

 squamous epithelium and even enter the subepithelial tissue, 

 sometimes penetrating blood-vessels and giving rise to metas- 



