314 Gonorrhea 



a thin, veil-like extension which gradually fades away at 

 the edges. A slight growth also occurs in the water of 

 condensation. 



Heiman * found that the gonococcus grows best in a 

 mixture of i part of pleuritic fluid and 2 parts of 2 per 

 cent. agar. Wright f prefers a mixture of urine, blood- 

 serum, peptone, and agar-agar. 



Laitinen J found agar-agar mixed with one-third to one- 

 half its volume of cyst or ascitic fluid, and bouillon con- 

 taining i per cent, of peptone and 0.5 per cent, of sodium 

 chlorid, mixed with one-third to one-half its volume of 

 cyst or ascitic fluid, very satisfactory. The gonococcus 

 could be kept alive upon these media for two months. 

 Laitinen found that the gonococcus produces acids in the 

 early days of its development, and alkalies subsequently. 

 He was unable to isolate any toxin from the cultures. 



Vital Resistance. Authorities agree that the gonococ- 

 cus has very slight power of heat endurance. Wertheim 

 found the optimum temperature of cultivation to be 39- 

 40 C., and saw no harm result from exposure to 42 C. It 

 is, however, doubtful whether this temperature can be long 

 survived and whether higher temperatures can be endured. 

 The gonococci, though not easily cultivated, are said to 

 resist unfavorable conditions, especially drying, very well. 

 Kratter was able to demonstrate their presence upon washed 

 clothing after six months, and found that they still stained 

 well. This may not mean that the organisms were still 

 alive. 



In artificial culture the gonococcus soon dies, though 

 cultures from different sources differ considerably in this 

 regard. As a rule they survive but a few transplantations, 

 though Young found that one culture had been kept alive 

 by students in his laboratory for more than three months. 



Toxic Products. The toxic metabolic products of the 

 gonococcus appear to be contained within the bodies of the 

 bacteria and disseminated but slightly throughout the 

 culture media. Christmas, Nicola ysen, || and Wasser- 



* "Medical Record," Dec. 19, 1886. 



f "Amer. Jour. Med. Sci.," Feb., 1895. 



J"Centralbl. f. Bakt. u. Parasitenk.," June 1, 1898, vol. xn, No. 20, 

 p. 874. 



"Ann. de 1'Inst. Pasteur," 1897. 



|| "Centralbl. f. Bakt. u. Parasitenk.," 1897, Bd. xxn, Nos. 12 

 and 13, p. 305. 



