33§ PA THOGENIC BACTERIA. 



garded by some as spores, but which are even less likely 

 to be spores than the similar appearances in the tubercle 

 bacillus. 



The organism almost always occurs singly or in irreg- 

 ular groups, filaments being unknown. It is not motile. 



Many experimenters have endeavored to grow this ba- 

 cillus upon artificially prepared substances, but in spite 

 of modern methods, improved apparatus, and refined 

 media, few claim to have met with success. 



Bordoni-Uffredozzi was able to grow upon a blood-serum- 

 glycerin mixture a bacillus which partook of the staining 

 peculiarities of the lepra bacillus as it appears in the 

 tissues, but differed very much from it in its morphology. 

 After numerous generations this bacillus was induced to 

 grow upon ordinary culture-media. It commonly pre- 

 sented a club-like form, which was regarded by Baum- 

 garten as an involution appearance. Frankel points out 

 that the bacillus of Bordoni is possessed of none of the 

 essential characters of the lepra bacillus except its stain- 

 ing. 



Czaplewski ! offers a confirmation of the work of Bor- 

 doni-Uffredozzi, together with a description of a bacillus 

 supposed to be the lepra bacillus, which he succeeded in 

 cultivating from the nasal secretions of a leper. 



The bacillus was first isolated upon a culture-medium 

 consisting of glyceriuized serum without the addition of 

 salt, pepton, or sugar. The mixture was placed in flat 

 dishes, coagulated by heat, and sterilized by the inter- 

 mittent method. 



The secretion, rich in lepra bacilli, was taken up with 

 a platinum wire and inoculated upon the culture-medium 

 by a series of linear strokes. The dishes (Petri dishes 

 were used for the experiment) were securely closed with 

 paraffin and stood in the incubating-oven at 37 C. 



Upon the surface of the medium there grew numerous 

 colonies of staphylococcus aureus, the bacillus of Fried- 



1 Cenlralbl. f. Bakt. und Parasitenk., Jan. 31, 1898, vol. xxiii., Nos. 3 and 

 4, p. 97. 



