CHAPTER X. 



BACTERIOLOGICAL EXAMINATION OF MATERIAL FROM 

 THE PATIENT AND THE CADAVER. 



MATERIAL FROM THE LIVING SUBJECT. 

 Blood Culture. 



Technic of Blood Cultures. 

 Bacteriological Examination of Cere- 



brospinal Fluid. 

 The Examination of Peritoneal, Pleu- 



ral and Pericardial Fluids. 

 Pus. 



Examination of Urine. 

 Examination of Feces. 

 Examination of Sputum, of Buccal 



and Pharyngeal Material. 



Examination by Staining. 

 Cultural Methods. 



Bacteriological Examination of the 

 Eye. 



Bacteriological Examination of the 



Ear and Nose. 



THE UTILIZATION OF ANIMALS FOR BAC- 

 TERIAL DIAGNOSIS AND EXPERI- 

 MENTATION. 



The Inoculation of Animals. 



THE successful outcome of a bacteriological examination of material 

 from a patient or a cadaver depends to a large degree upon the appli- 

 cation of proper technic at the time of collection. Naturally this is 

 varied according to the nature of the case: 



Postmortem cultures are taken from organs or tissues usually 

 indicated by the nature of the infection, and a choice of media for the 

 isolation of a specific bacteria, or types of bacteria, is made with this 

 information in view. The value of a postmortem bacteriological 

 examination is frequently measured by the promptness with which 

 it is made after death; postmortem invasion of tissues, organs, and 

 even the heart and larger bloodvessels by bacteria from the mouth 

 and gastro-intestinal tract takes place very quickly. Even if the 

 cadaver is placed at once in a cold room, some time must elapse before 

 the internal organs are cooled sufficiently to arrest bacterial growth. 



The spleen, liver, kidneys, and bloodvessels are more commonly 

 examined for evidence of pathogenic microorganisms. The surface 

 of the undisturbed organ is first seared with a hot iron, then incised 

 through the sterile area, and some of the contents withdrawn in a 

 platinum loop or with a sterile capillary pipette and introduced at once 

 into suitable media. (The kind of media to be used is clearly set forth 

 for each organism, in succeeding chapters.) Blood may be obtained 

 from the heart, after searing the surface of the organ, or from the 

 larger veins of the extremities. Exudates from the pleural, peritoneal 



