334 ACTINOMYCOSIS AND ALLIED DISEASES 



visible on the third or fourth day in the form of little trans- 

 parent drops which gradually enlarge and form rounded projec- 

 tions of a reddish-yellow tint and somewhat transparent 

 appearance, like drops of amber. The growths tend to remain 

 separate, and even when they become confluent, the nodular 



character is maintained. 

 They have a tough con- 

 sistence, being with diffi- 

 culty broken up, and 

 adhere firmly to the sur- 

 face of the agar. Older 

 growths often show on 

 the surface a sort of 

 corrugated aspect, and 

 may sometimes present 

 the appearance of having 

 been dusted with a brown- 

 ish-yellow powder (Fig. 

 98). 



In the cultures at an 

 early stage the growth is 

 composed of branching 

 filaments, which stain 

 uniformly (Fig. 99), but 

 later some of the super- 

 ficial filaments may show 

 segmentation into gonidia. 

 Slight bulbous thickenings 

 may be seen at the end of 

 some of the filaments, but 

 FIG. 98. Cultures of the actinomyces on true clubs have not been 

 glycerin agar, of about three weeks' growth, observed, 

 showing the appearances which occur. The Q nelntim the samp 

 growth in A is at places somewhat corru- ~ V ela>Un 

 gated on the surface. Natural size. tendency to grow in little 



spherical masses is seen, 



and the medium becomes very slowly liquefied. When this 

 occurs the liquefied portion has a brownish colour and somewhat 

 syrupy consistence, and the growths may be seen at the bottom, 

 as little balls, from the surface of which filaments radiate. 



The organism obtained in culture by Wolff and Israel (vide 

 infra) is probably the same as the one which has been recently 

 described in detail by J. H. Wright, who obtained it in pure 

 condition from fifteen different cases of the disease. It differs 

 markedly from j Bostrom's organism in being almost a strict 



