MATERIAL FOR BACTERIOLOGIC EXAMINATION 173 



should be fresh, and should be sent to the laboratory 

 without delay. In summer the specimen should be kept 

 cool with ice. Under no circumstances should a disin- 

 fectant be added. 



Spinal Fluid. — Inasmuch as the bacteriological ex- 

 amination of spinal fluid by means of cultures is so often 

 of decisive importance, care should be taken to collect 

 this fluid only in clean, sterile bottles or test-tubes, and 

 forward these at once to the laboratory. A disinfectant 

 should not be added. 



