MICROCOCCUS INTRACELLULARIS 379 



able to inoculate a number of tubes with relatively large 

 quantities of the exudate, and even then growth often occurs 

 in only a part of them, notwithstanding the fact that on 

 microscopic examination the organism may have been 

 readily detected in large numbers in the exudate. Illus- 

 trative of this difficulty, the following experience of Council- * 

 man, Mallory, and Wright may properly be quoted i 1 



"As showing the difficulty in growing the organisms in 

 cultures made from the meninges at the postmortem exami- 

 nation, ten cultures were made in one case from the exuda- 

 tion on the brain and six from the cord, cover-slip exami- 

 nations showing abundant organisms in the cells. Only 

 two of the cultures from the brain and one from the cord 

 showed a growth. As a rule, the organisms were more 

 easily obtained in cultures made from the acute cases than 

 from the chronic." 



When successfully isolated in pure culture its growth is 

 never profuse on any medium. On the serum mixture of 

 Loffler the isolated colonies appear as round, viscid, smooth, 

 sharply defined points that may attain a diameter of 1 to 

 1.5 mm. There is no liquefaction of the medium. Cultures 

 from very acute cases occasionally present an abundant 

 growth of fine, transparent colonies strongly suggestive of 

 those of micrococcus lanceolatus. 



On glycerin-agar the colonies are round, pearly, trans- 

 lucent, flat, and viscid in appearance. They tend to become 

 confluent. Under low magnifying power they are homo- 

 geneous, semitransparent, faintly brownish, with well-defined 

 smooth margins. On plain agar the growth is feeble and 

 uncertain. 



1 See Epidemic Cerebrospinal Meningitis, etc., Report of the State Board 

 of Health, Mass., 1898, by Councilman, Mallory, and Wright. 



