250 



GONORRHCEA AND SOFT SORE 



within the protoplasm, especially superficially, and are often so 

 numerous that the leucocytes appear to be filled with them, and 

 their nuclei are obscured. As the disease becomes more chronic, 



the gonococci gradually 

 become diminished in 

 number, though even in 

 long-standing cases they 

 may still be found in con- 

 siderable numbers. They 

 are also present in the 

 purulent secretion of 

 gonorrhoeal conjunctivitis, 

 also in various parts of 

 the female genital organs 

 when these parts are the 

 seat of true gonorrhreal 

 infection, and they have 

 been found in some cases 

 in the secondary infections 

 of the joints in the dis- 

 ease, as will be described 

 below. 



Stained with fuchsin. x 1000. Staining. The gono- 



coccus stains readily and 



deeply with a watery solution of any of the basic aniline dyes 

 methylene-blue, fuchsin, etc. It is, however, easily decolorised, 

 and it completely loses the stain by Gram's method an 

 important point in the microscopical examination. 



Cultivation of the Gonococcus. This is attended with 

 some difficulty, as the conditions of growth are somewhat 

 restricted. The most suitable media are "blood-agar" and -the 

 serum media already described for the purpose (pp. 42, 43). It 

 is advisable to inoculate the media within half an hour after 

 obtaining the material from the body, and place the tubes 

 at once in the incubator. Growth takes place best at the 

 temperature of the body, and ceases altogether at 25 C. Cultures 

 are obtained by taking some pus on the loop of the platinum 

 needle and inoculating one of the media mentioned by leaving 

 minute quantities here and there on the surface. The medium 

 may be used either as ordinary " sloped tubes " or as a thin layer 

 in a Petri's capsule. The young colonies are usually visible 

 within forty-eight hours, and often within twenty-four hours ; 

 it is important, however, to note that sometimes growth may 

 not appear till the fourth day. They appear around the 



FIG. 72. Portion of film of gonorrhoeal pus, 

 showing the characteristic arrangement of 

 the gonococci within leucocytes. See also 

 Plate I., Fig. 5. 

 d wit 



