166 APPLIED BACTERIOLOGY FOR NURSES 



or in specially prepared water-proofed wood boxes. 

 In infants and children sputum can be obtained by 

 means of a small piece of gauze, held with a stick or 

 thumb forceps in the child's throat. This induces a 

 reflex cough, with the expulsion of some of the desired 

 sputum on the gauze. 



Throat Smears. When the throat is covered with 

 membrane the physician often desires cultures to deter- 

 mine the nature of the infection. These are made as 

 follows: Prepare a small sterile cotton swab, place the 

 patient in a good light, and then gently wipe off some of 

 the exudate. Make sure that no antiseptic has been 

 applied to the throat within the previous two hours. 

 If culture-tubes are available, wipe the swab holding the 

 exudate over the surface of the culture, being careful 

 not to break the surface. For accurate diagnosis it is 

 advisable also to spread some of the exudate on the 

 swab on a glass slide and send this along with the culture. 



Water. Water for bacteriologic examination should 

 be collected in sterile 1 -ounce bottles, and kept cool 

 during transportation to the laboratory. In collecting 

 water from a faucet care should be taken to secure a 

 typic specimen by allowing the water to run for some 

 time before collecting. In the case of springs, wells, 

 reservoirs, etc., one should not dip water from the 

 surface, for such a specimen would probably contain an 

 undue proportion of bacteria from the dust of the air. 



Milk. When milk is to be examined, one must be sure 

 to secure a representative sample by thoroughly mixing 

 milk and cream. The latter always contains a very 

 large number of bacteria. 



Autopsies. Specimens of organs are secured free from 



