1 74 BACTERIA 



COLON BACILLUS 



Bacterium Coli. 



Bacillus coll or Bacillus coll communis. 



Colon Bacillus. 



While not strictly a pathogenic organism, it plays such an im- 

 portant part in secondary infection, and resembles so closely the 

 typhoid bacillus, that it will be described here. 



Morphology and Stains. Is not so motile as typhoid; has not 

 so many flagella; and is devoid of spores. It exhibits pleomor- 

 phism; may grow in chains; and possesses vacuoles and polar 



FIG. 49. Colon bacillus showing flagella. (Kolle and Wassermann.) 



bodies at times. Is readily stained by all the common basic 

 stains, but not by Gram's method. 



Oxygen Requirements. It grows especially well in oxygen; 

 without oxygen its growth is not so good. 



Temperature requirements, and vital resistance. It grows well 

 at room and incubator temperature. Its thermal death-point is 

 about 62C.; light and heat are destructive to it, and its resis- 

 tance to antiseptics is somewhat less than that of typhoid bacillus. 



