(joNororrrs IN FICTION 559 



Prophylaxis of Gonorrhea. As practiced in the United States 

 army stations during the war 26 this consisted in injecting about 10 c.c. 

 of a 2 per cent protargol into the urethra enough to thoroughly dis- 

 tend it, with a glass hand syringe, holding it there with the syringe in 

 place, for one-half minute. The procedure is twice repeated. Its 

 success depends very largely upon early application after intercourse. 

 As to general efficiency in regard to gonorrhea we are not in a position 

 as vet to submit reliable statistics. 



MICROCOCCUS CATARRHALIS 



Micrococcus catarrhalis is a diplococcus described first by R. 

 Pfeiffer, 27 who found it in the sputum of patients suffering from catarrhal 

 inflammations of the upper respiratory tract. It was subsequently 

 carefully studied by Ghon and H. Pfeiffer. 28 According to these authors 

 the pathogenic significance of the micrococcus is slight, though occasion- 

 ally it may be regarded as the causative factor in catarrhal inflammations. 

 Its chief claim to attention, however, lies in its similarity to the meningo- 

 coccus and the gonococcus, from neither of which it can be morpholog- 

 ically distinguished. It is decolorized by Gram's stain, appears often in 

 the diplococcus form, and has a tendency, in exudates, to be located 

 intracellularly. Not unlike the two microorganisms mentioned, too, 

 it shows but slight pathogenicity for animals. 



Differentiation from gonococcus is extremely simple in that Micro- 

 coccus catarrhalis grows easily on simple culture media and shows 

 none of the fastidious cultural requirements of the gonococcus. 



From meningococcus the differentiation is less simple and, because 

 of the presence of both microorganisms in the nose, is of great impor- 

 tance. 



Distinction between the two is made entirely upon cultural charac- 

 teristics and agglutination reactions. Culturally, Micrococcus catar- 

 rhalis grows more heavily than meningococcus upon the ordinary 

 culture media. The colonies of Micrococcus catarrhalis are coarsely 

 granular and distinctly white in contradistinction to the finely granu- 

 lar, grayish meningococcus colonies. 29 Micrococcus catarrhalis will 



26 Bayard Clark, Medical Times, April, 191!). 

 -' Vliifif/<; "J)ie Mikroorg.," 'M <'<!., 1896. 

 2S Ghon uml //. Pfeiffer, Zeit. f. klin. Mcd., 1902. 

 -'' Ghon mid Pfeiffer, loc. cit. 



