MATERIAL FOR BACTERIOLOGIC EXAMINATION l7l 



will hawk up mucus coming from the nose, others will 

 spit out saliva, still others will be at a loss what to do. 

 Sputum should never be sent to the laboratory merely 

 in a gauze handkerchief or on a piece of paper, but 

 only in a small, wide-mouthed bottle securely corked, 

 or in specially prepared water-proofed wood boxes. 

 In infants and children sputum can be obtained by 

 means of a small piece of gauze, held with a stick or 

 thumb forceps in the child's throat. This induces a 

 reflex cough, with the expulsion of some of the desired 

 sputum on the gauze. 



Special care should be taken in the collection of sputum 

 from pneumonia patients for the purpose of having the 

 type of pneumococcus determined. Such sputum should 

 be collected in a clean, sterile bottle, ivithoid disinfectant, 

 and the specimen should at once be sent by special mes- 

 senger to the bacteriological laboratory. 



Throat Smears. — When the throat is covered with 

 membrane the physician often desires cultures to deter- 

 mine the nature of the infection. These are made as 

 follows: Prepare a small sterile cotton swab, place the 

 patient in a good light, and then gently wipe off some of 

 the exudate. Make sure that no antiseptic has been 

 applied to the throat witliin the previous two hours. 

 If culture-tubes are available, wipe the swab holding the 

 exudate over the surface of the culture, being careful 

 not to break the surface. For accurate diagnosis it is 

 advisable also to spread some of the exudate on the 

 swab on a glass slide and send this along with the culture. 



Water. — Water for bacteriologic examination should 

 be collected in sterile 1 -ounce bottles, and kept cool 

 during transportation to the laboratory. In collecting 



