324 ACTINOMYCOSIS AND ALLIED DISEASES 



visible on the third or fourth day in the form of little trans- 

 parent drops which gradually enlarge and form rounded projec- 

 tions of a reddish-yellow tint and somewhat transparent 

 appearance, like drops of amber. The growths tend to remain 

 separate, and even when they become confluent, the nodular 



character is maintained. 

 They have a tough con- 

 sistence, being with diffi- 

 culty broken up, and 

 adhere firmly to the sur- 

 face of the agar. Older 

 growths often show on 

 the surface a sort of cor- 

 rugated aspect, and may 

 sometimes present the 

 appearance of having been 

 dusted with a brownish- 

 yellow powder (Fig. 94). 



In the cultures at an 

 early stage the growth is 

 composed of branching 

 filaments, which stain 

 uniformly (Fig. 95), but 

 later some of the super- 

 ficial filaments may show 

 segmentation into gonidia. 

 Slight bulbous thicken- 

 ings may be seen at the 

 end of some of the fila- 

 A B ments, but true clubs have 



FIG. 94. Cultures of the actinomyces on not been observed, 

 glycerin agar, of about three weeks' growth, Q n gelatin the same 

 showing the appearances which occur. The , i r ,,i 



growth in A is at places somewhat corru- tendency to grow in little 

 gated on the surface. Natural size. spherical masses is seen, 



and the medium becomes 



very slowly liquefied. When this occurs the liquefied portion 

 has a brownish colour and somewhat syrupy consistence, and 

 the growths may be seen at the bottom, as little balls, from the 

 surface of which filaments radiate. 



The organism obtained in culture by Wolff and Israel (vide 

 infra} is probably the same as the one which has been recently 

 described in detail by J. H. Wright, who obtained it in pure 

 condition from fifteen different cases of the disease. It differs 

 markedly from Bostrom's organism in being almost a strict 



