288 PATHOGENIC BACTERIA. 



be regarded as specific, and is now looked upon as an 

 accidental organism whose presence in the lung is, in 

 most cases, unimportant. 



As the two organisms are similar in more respects than 

 their names, Friedlander's bacillus requires at least a 

 brief description. 



It is distinctly a bacillus, but sometimes, when occur- 

 ring in pairs, has a close resemblance to the pneumo- 

 coccus of Frankel and Weichselbaum. Very frequently 

 it forms chains of four or more elements. It is also com- 

 monly surrounded by a transparent capsule. It is non- 



Fig. 63. — Bacillus pneumonias of Friedlander, from the expectoration of a 

 pneumonia patient; x 1000 (Frankel and Pfeiffer). 



motile, has no spores and no flagella. It stains well 

 with the ordinary anilin dyes, but does not retain the 

 color when stained by Gram's method. 



Frankel points out that Friedlander's error in suppos- 

 ing this bacillus to be the chief parasite in pneumonia 

 depended upon the fact that his studies were made by 

 the plate method. If some of the pneumonic exudate be 

 mixed with gelatin and poured upon plates, the bacilli 

 grow into colonies at the end of twentv-four hours, and 

 appear as small white spheres which spread upon the 



