YEAST-LIKE FUNGI OF HUMAN INTESTINAL TRACT 33 



colonies were evenly distributed. The 3rd passage, 24 hours later, was of 

 normal consistency, although the pains in the region of the intestine were 

 still acute. Samples from this stool were plated but the agar was unsatis- 

 factory and no accurate results were obtained. Sufficient colonies appeared, 

 however, on 1 good plate to indicate that the organisms were still present. The 

 4th stool gave a large percentage of the sprue organism. The number of 

 positive contacts was somewhat reduced in these plates, but several of them 

 yielded over 50%. This 4th sample was taken 6 days after the ingestion of the 

 yeasts and is the only case in which more than 2 successive stools gave colonies 

 of the organism ingested. The next 2 stools were not saved on account of 

 the pressure of other work, but the pain in the stomach and intestine dis- 

 appeared and subsequent stools gave entirely negative results. The rather sudden 

 disappearance of the yeasts was unexpected and difficult to account for. 



During the course of this experiment the person fed on his normal diet. 

 Carbohydrates did not constitute as large a percentage of the food as normally, 

 but were not much less than the average person would use. 



The most important conclusion to be drawn from this experiment 

 is that this yeast differs from all others investigated in that it was able 

 to remain and seemingly to develop in the alimentary tract. It is not 

 conceivable that the small number of yeasts fed could continue to give 

 positive results over this long period unless they did multiply during 

 the time they were in the intestional tract. Unfortunately, no attempt 

 was made to determine whether or not they were present in the stomach 

 after the first 48 hours. While the other yeasts investigated seemed 

 to pass through the alimentary tract as so much waste food, except 

 for a possible brief period of multiplication in the stomach, this 

 organism undoubtedly was able to carry on its normal processes and 

 secure at least a temporary foothold somewhere in the digestive canal. 

 The mere presence of active yeasts in the intestinal tract for a long 

 period of time would, undoubtedly, give rise to harmful by-products, 

 as maintained by Neumayer. If, in addition to this, they are able to 

 establish themselves in the mucous membrane, as do the thrush and 

 sprue organism, their presence would lead to serious results. 



THE CLASSIFICATION OF BUDDING FUNGI 



The fungi having budding stages in their life cycles are of 3 types: 

 (1) those in which budding is a secondary phase, usually occurring 

 under unusual or abnormal conditions, or during only a short period 

 of the life cycle of the organism ; the primary phase consists of a dis- 

 tinct mycelial development; (2) those in which budding is the primary 

 phase, occurring under all the usual conditions of growth, but always 

 with mycelial formation, more or less rudimentary, as a secondary 

 phase ; (3) those in which budding is the only known method of vegeta- 

 tive multiplication. 



