46 HARRY WARREN ANDERSON 



The feces of persons suffering from gastro-intestinal disorders of 

 various types do not yield a larger number of yeasts than those from 

 healthy persons. There is no one species commonly present in the 

 intestinal tract of either healthy persons or those suffering from gastro- 

 intestinal troubles. 



In a case diagnosed by highly competent clinicians as sprue, yeast- 

 like organisms of a single species and in great numbers were constantly 

 present. This species is the same as the sprue organism isolated by 

 Ash ford. 



Nonpathogenic yeasts, when fed in mass, pass through the alimen- 

 tary tract in a living condition and may be found in great numbers in 

 the feces. They do not cause serious inconvenience when fed alone, 

 and are not retained longer than the ingested food. 



The sprue organism, when ingested after being in culture for several 

 months, is not able to cause the disease but is retained in the intestinal 

 tract for a longer time than in the case of the nonpathogenic" forms. 



The pathogenic yeasts, for the most part, are easily distinguished 

 from the yeast-like fungi isolated from the digestive tract. None of the 

 yeasts isolated from healthy persons or from those suffering temporary 

 intestinal disturbances were identical with the pathogenic yeasts studied. 



Generic separation among the yeasts which do not form ascospores 

 is based on the presence or absence and relative predominance of a 

 septate mycelial phase in the life history of the organism, together with 

 the type of budding and striking cultural characters. The genera to 

 which the budding asporogenic fungi belong are: Cryptococcus, 

 Parasaccharomyces, Pseudosaccharomyces, Pseudomonilia, Mycoderma. 

 and Zymonema. 



On account of the wide morphologic and cultural variations within 

 a single species, the separation of species is based on the combination 

 of morphologic, cultural, and physiologic characters. The necessity of 

 a standard method of procedure similar to that of the bacteriologists 

 for the separation of species is recognized. 



The yeast-like fungus associated with sprue is similar in many of 

 its characters to Endomyces albicans and is possibly identical with the 

 yeast commonly found causing thrush in children. 



The sprue organism (Parasaccharomyces Ashfordi sp. nov.) is 

 easily distinguished from the 'wild yeasts' commonly found in the 

 intestinal tract by its reactions in sugar mediums and milk ; and cultural 

 characters, such as the peculiar growth in- gelatin-stab cultures and the 

 formation of septate mycelium in gelatin hanging-drop cultures. No 



