162 BACTERIOLOGY. 



When the autopsy is complete and the gross appear- 

 ances have been carefully noted, small portions of each 

 organ are to be preserved in 95 per cent, alcohol for sub- 

 sequent examination. Throughout the entire autopsy it 

 must be borne in mind that all cultures, cover-slips, and 

 tissues must be carefully labelled, not only with the 

 name of the organ from which they originate, but with 

 the date, name of the animal, etc., so that an account of 

 their condition after closer study may be subsequently 

 inserted in the protocol. 



The cover-slips are now to be stained, mounted, and 

 examined microscopically, and the results carefully noted 

 in the protocol. 



The same may be said for the subsequent study of the 

 cultures and the hardened tissues which are to be stained 

 and subjected to microscopic examination. The results 

 of the microscopic study of the cover-slip preparations 

 and those obtained by cultures should in most cases corre- 

 spond, though it not rarely occurs that bacteria are present 

 in such small numbers in the tissues that their presence 

 may be overlooked microscopically, and still they may 

 appear in the cultures. 



If the autopsy has been performed in the proper way, 

 under the precautions given, and sufficiently soon after 

 death, the results of the bacteriological examination 

 should be either negative or the organisms which 

 appear should be in pure cultures. 



This is particularly the case with the cultures made 

 from the internal viscera. 



Both the cover-slips and cultures made from the point 

 of inoculation are apt to contain a variety of organisms. 



If the organism obtained in pure culture from the in- 

 ternal viscera, or those predominating at the point of 



