SPECIAL FORMS OF CONJUNCTIVAL INFECTION 185 



the organism appears to be more refractory in this respect than when 

 it is obtained from pneumonic sputum ; in the latter case more fluid 

 of human origin is transferred to the medium. Carefully prepared 

 serum agar (ascites, etc.) and blood-serum are very good media. 



In the incubator cultures usually die out in a few days. Under 

 anaerobic conditions they usually live longer, and retain their viru- 

 lence rather better, though even then it rapidly diminishes. The 

 same is true when the organism is kept in an ice-chamber. They 

 live longest when in sputum or other organic material, even if it be 

 dried. In bouillon only a very slight cloudiness forms, and this very 

 rapidly clears again. In grape-sugar bouillon, growth is freer, with 

 the formation of acid ; it does not, 

 however, last long. 



The morphology in cultures corre- 

 sponds to that in secretions ; the 

 variations are, however, more marked. 



Growth in chains occurs much more _,_ * / % 



freely in some strains, especially if I j 



they are taken from bouillon or from \. * > 



the condensed water of solid media. 

 In such cases the differentiation from 

 Streptococcus $>y9 enes m &y be very 



difficult ; hence the designation by 



. . FIG. 34. A STEM RESEMBLING 



Aruse and Passim, 'Streptococcus of STREPTOCOCCUS MUCOSUS(UHTHOFF 

 the conjunctiva.' Well-marked cap- AND AXENFELD). 



sales are sometimes formed around 

 the chains. The variety of Strepto- 

 coccus described as Streptococcus mucosus is very closely related to 

 such pneumococcal strains. The discussion on this question is not yet 

 concluded (see Zentr. f. Bakt., 1906, xxxviii., Kef., pp. 176 and 663, 

 etc.). Some time ago I obtained a particularly marked example of 

 this variety in a culture from an ulcus serpens (see Fig. 34). 



"Wirtz 1 found an organism on the conjunctiva which showed all the peculiarities 

 of the Streptococcus mucosus given by Schottmuller and Schuhmacher, but had 

 no elongated forms. This organism was obtained from an old case of trachoma, 

 which had peculiar glutinous masses of secretion, almost cell-free, and so adhesive 

 that they could be drawn out into threads like elastic. The conjunctiva appeared 

 to be in a state of very slight irritation ; still, the secretion remained chronic, and 

 the case became complicated by a very severe corneal ulcer. Diplococci were 

 found in the secretion ; they were round or slightly flattened at their points of 



1 Re ' Conjunctivitis with peculiar secretion caused by the Streptococcus mucosus,' see 

 K. M. f. A., October, 1906, Bd. ii., where the rest of the bacteriological literature will 

 be found. 



