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THE MENINGOCOCCUSGONOCOCCUS GROUP 



Morphology. The gonococcus occurs typically as a diplococcus, the 

 proximated surfaces of pairs of cocci being flattened and elongated; 

 they resemble coffee beans in shape. The longer diameter measures 

 about 1.5 microns, the shorter diameter about 0.8 micron. The 

 polymorphonuclear leukocytes of pus from cases of acute gonorrhea 

 usually contain from one to several pairs of gonococci which are within 

 the cytoplasm of the leukocyte but rarely or never within the nuclei. 

 The organisms are also found within desquamated epithelial cells and 

 occur free in pus as well. Gonococci are less numerous in the subacute 

 and chronic stages of the disease, and they occur chiefly extracellu- 



FIG. 41. Gonococcus smear of pus from acute case. Methylene blue stain. (Warden.) 



larly, with occasional pairs or clusters of gonococci in epithelial cells, 

 less commonly in polymorphonuclear leukocytes. The organisms 

 undergo degeneration rapidly, and even in pus from the more acute 

 cases many large faintly staining cocci are found in association with 

 those which are more typical in morphology and staining. In the 

 chronic stage of the disease degenerated forms are very common. 



The gonococcus is non-motile, and possesses no flagella; it forms no 

 spores and capsules have not been detected. It stains with ordinary 

 anilin dyes, but with some difficulty. It is Gram-negative. 



Isolation and Culture. The organism does not grow upon ordinary 

 media; for the first growths outside the human body media con- 

 taining uncoagulated protein, preferably that of human origin, is 



