72 CLINICAL BACTERIOLOGY AND 



in cases as they are seen in practice. If we desire, there- 

 fore, to obtain a growth from a nasal discharge, it is wise 

 not to make a culture from the pus taken from the anterior 

 nares, but farther back in the nasal cavity, that region 

 being more certain to contain the specific organisms without 

 so much contamination. Take a piece of stout wire about 

 15 inches long, and fix on one end a firm piece of cotton- wool 

 (sterile), and pass into the nostril (evading the false nostril). 

 Gently rub the mucosa with the pledget and withdraw 

 it, immediately plunging it into a stout sterile test-tube. 

 Push the free end of the wire through a cork, and bring 

 it down into the mouth of the tube. The pledget will then 

 be firmly fixed in the test-tube. If it is the urine we 

 desire to examine for bacteria, the fluid should be with- 

 drawn with a sterile catheter into a sterile tube and corked. 

 This should be centrifuged, the supernatant fluid withdrawn 

 by a sterile pipette, and one or two loopfuls of sediment 

 placed on slides. One,- drop of blood should now be taken 

 from the finger-tip and mixed by the pipette with the 

 urine deposit, and spread, dried, and stained. The blood 

 supplies the albumin, which coagulates on heat and fixes 

 the bacteria if present. In cases of thoracic effusion or 

 bursal effusion of joints, these cavities should be aspirated 

 by antiseptic methods, etc., and the fluid placed in sterile 

 vessels. When dealing with milk, it is advisable to 

 asepticize the end of the teat with tincture of iodine, 

 draw a quantity of fluid away before collecting, after which 

 some should be drawn into a sterile vessel, care being taken 

 not to touch the fluid with the hand or fingers. In the case 

 of abscesses, etc., all one requires to do is to smear the pus 

 on the slide, and, if too thick, distilled water should be 

 used to dilute it. It is good practice to make three smears 

 for examination, and to stain them with 



1. Carbol-methylene blue. 



2. Gram's method (contrast stain, neutral red). 



3. Ziehl-Neelsen method (for acid-fast organisms). 



