DIPLOCOCCUS GONORRHCELE 



381 



The gonococcus is non-motile and does not form spores. It is easily 

 stained with aqueous anilin dyes. Methylene-blue alone, or eosin 

 followed by methylene-blue, give good results. An excellent picture 

 is obtained with the Pappenheim-Saathof stain consisting of 



Methyl green 0. 15 



Pyronin 0.5 



96% alcohol 5.0 



Glycerin 20.0 



2% carbolic acid water ad.- 100.0 



Fix stain 1-2 min. 



Gram's method of staining, however, is the only one of differential 

 value, gonococcus being Gram negative. The Gram stain applied to 



pus from the male urethra, while not absolutely ^ 



reliable, is, for practical purposes, sufficiently so 

 to make a diagnosis. In exudates from the 

 vagina or from the eye the morphological pic- 

 ture is not so reliable, owing to the frequent 

 presence in these regions of other Gram-negative 

 cocci. The great scarcity of gonococci in very 

 chronic discharges necessitates thorough cultural 

 investigation; negative morphological examina- 

 tion in such cases can not be regarded as con- 

 clusive. 1 



Cultivation. The gonococcus is delicate and 

 difficult to cultivate. Bumm 2 obtained his first 

 growths upon human blood serum which had been 

 heated to partial coagulation. 



The medium most commonly used at the 

 present day was introduced by Wertheim, 3 and 

 consists of a mixture of two or three parts of 

 meat inf usion-agar with one part of uncoagulated 

 human ascitic fluid, hydrocele fluid, or blood 

 serum. The agar is melted and cooled to 45 before 

 is added. The mixture may then be slanted 

 or poured into a Petri plate. 





FlG. 80. GONORRHE AL 



Pus FROM URETHRA, 

 SHOWING THE Cocci 

 WITHIN A LEUCOCYTE. 



the serum 

 in the test tube 



One per cent of glucose may be added. 

 Cultures in fluid media may be obtained by similar additions of serum 

 to meat-infusion-pep ton-broth. Whole rabbit's blood added to agar, 



1 Heiman, Medical Record, 1896. 2 Bumm, Deut. med. Woch., 1885. 

 3 Wertheim, Arch, f . Gynakol., 1892. 



