367 



lida, which it resembles in size and shape. Pure cultures have 

 been obtained by Noguchi. Other spirochetes of the mouth 

 have also been cultivated by this investigator and there are prob- 

 ably several species of them. 



Spirochaeta (Bacillus) Fusiformis (Vincenti). In an ulcer a- 

 tive disease of the tonsils known as Vincent's angina there occur 

 very constantly large numbers of fusiform rods 0.3 to o.Sju in 

 thickness and 3 to lo/x long, associated with spiral filaments with 

 rather coarse windings. Similar organisms occur in other ul- 

 cerative conditions of the mouth and pharynx and rarely else- 

 where in the body. The relation of these organisms to each other, 

 whether they are distinct species or different forms of the same 

 species, is still unsettled. Their etiological relationship to the 

 disease is also uncertain. Tunnicliff 1 has observed spiral forms 

 in her pure cultures of Bacillus fusiformis. It seems probable 

 that the spirals seen in the ulcer are to a large extent the ordi- 

 nary mouth spirochetes, but the fusiform bacillus itself is evidently 

 a close relative of the spirochetes, as it requires similar conditions 

 for successful culture and is able at times to assume a distinctly 

 spiral form in culture. 



1 Journ. Inf. Diseases, 1906, Vol. Ill, p. 148; Rosenow and Tunnicliff: Journ 

 Inf. Dis., 1912. Vol. X, pp. 1-6. 



