84 STUDY AND IDENTIFICATION OF BACTERIA 



from ulcerated lepromata or from the scrapings from intact tubercles. 

 Some advise centrifuging with salt solution, but this is rarely necessary. 

 The most practical method is by taking a capillary bulb pipette which has been 

 drawn out into a fine point. The point is broken off as with a Wright's blood sticker 

 and inserted deep into the corium. The serum which results is drawn up, smeared 

 out on a slide and stained. The best method is to excise a small portion of skin 

 or mucous membrane, fix it in absolute alcohol or Zenker's fluid. Cut thin sections 

 in paraffin. Stain with carbol fuchsin, decolorize with acid alcohol, and then stain 

 with haematoxylin. This gives the location of the bacilli. This is also a good 

 method for tuberculous tissues. It is claimed that the B. leprae stains more easily 

 and loses its color more rapidly than the tubercle bacillus. Some prefer to stain 

 the leprosy bacillus by Gram's method, it as well as the tubercle bacillus being 

 Gram positive. 



NONACID-FAST BRANCHING BACILLI. 



Bacillus mallei (Loffler and Shutz, 1882). This is the cause of a 

 rather common disease of horses. When affecting the superficial 

 lymphatic glands, it is termed " farcy;" when producing ulceration of 

 nasal mucous membrane, the term " glanders" is used. 



In man there are two types of glanders chronic and acute. In the 

 chronic form an abrasion becomes infected from contact with glanders 

 material and an intractable foul discharging ulceration results. This 

 may persist for months with lymphatic involvement or may become 

 acute. The acute form may also develop from the start and the cases 

 are usually diagnosed as pyaemia. Death invariably results in acute 

 glanders. The bacillus is a narrow, slightly curved rod, about 3X0.3;*. 

 It is nonmotile and Gram negative. It at times presents a beaded 

 appearance. In subculture on agar or blood-serum the growth is 

 somewhat like typhoid but more translucent. In original cultures from 

 pus or tissues the colonies may not show themselves for forty-eight 

 hours. 



As the organism does not tend to invade the blood stream, blood cultures are 

 apt to be negative. The glanders bacillus grows best on an acid glycerine agar 



( + 2). 



The characteristic culture is that on potato. Grown at 37 C., we 

 have a light brown mucilaginous growth, which by the end of a week 

 spreads out and takes a cafe au lait color. The potato assumes a dirty- 

 brown color. This and the inoculation of a guinea-pig are the chief 

 diagnostic measures. If the material is injected intraperitoneally into 

 a male guinea-pig, marked swelling of the testicles is noted within 



