STAINING. 231 



pus corpuscles. At this stage inflammation affects only the most 

 superficial portion of the mucous membrane. In a short time, 

 however, the gonococcus penetrates into the lymph spaces and the 

 inflammation extends more deeply. From the second to the 

 third day, as the secretion becomes more profuse, the epithelial 

 cells are less numerous and the pus corpuscles are in proportion 

 more abundant, and from two to three of them to every hundred 

 contain gonococci, usually two to three congregated closely together 

 in one corpuscle. During the progress of the acute stage the epi- 

 thelial cells become more and more scanty, while the pus corpus- 

 cles containing cocci increase in number so that finally one in every 

 five contains the specific microbes. 



During the subacute stage, about the fourth week, the epithelial 

 cells again have become more numerous, about in the proportion of 

 one to every eight or ten pus corpuscles. But few of the cells 

 contain gonococci, while the pus corpuscles are freely charged with 

 them. In chronic cases of gonorrhoea the epithelial cells again are 

 more numerous, and most of them contain gonococci while the 

 pus corpuscles almost disappear. Extra-cellular gonococci are also 

 numerous. He believes that gonococci can enter the nucleus. 



The size of the gonococcus varies according to its age, and 

 depends, also, upon the nature of the nutrient medium. In the 

 mucous membrane in man they attain the largest size, and measure 

 1.6 micromillimetre from pole to pole, while the width of each 

 separate coccus is 0.8 and 0.6 micromillimetre. 



According to Welander (" Ueber den Eiufluss der Keuutniss der 

 Gonococcen auf die Behandlung der Gonorrhoeeu," Hygiea, Bd. 

 Ixvii., 1885), the gonococcus multiplies by division. The first 

 change that is observed is that the coccus assumes an oblong shape, 

 in the centre of which a constriction takes place, which becomes 

 deeper and deeper until the segmentation is completed. This pro- 

 cess he has only observed in cocci free in the secretion, only excep- 

 tionally within epithelial cells, and never in cocci in the interior of 

 pus corpuscles or their nuclei. He was unable to satisfy himself 

 of the correctness of Bockhardt's observation that the gonococcus 

 multiplies in the interior of white blood-corpuscles. 



STAINING. The gonococcus stains readily with basic aniline 

 dyes, but by using gentiana, dahlia, and methyl-violet, the staining 

 becomes so intense that the fissure between the cocci becomes 

 obscured, while this is not the case by using concentrated fuchsin 

 solution. Bumm claims that the staining can be done most success- 

 fully with aniline-violet, and that the staining is less intense by 

 using fuchsin. 



Smirnoff stained the gonococci for microscopical examination as 

 follows : The slide is covered with a thin layer of pus, dried, and 



