THRUSH 573 



to consist of masses of tangled mycelial threads with 

 yeast-like budding. The organism can be readily culti- 

 vated on all the ordinary laboratory media, and will also 

 grow on slightly acid media such as wort gelatin. It pro- 

 duces whitish, membranous, adherent growths, in which it 

 appears morphologically under two forms as masses of 

 tangled filaments or hyphse and as yeast-like cells. On 

 acid media the latter exclusively occur, on alkaline the 

 former predominate. It liquefies gelatin and serum, 

 stains by Gram's method, produces an alkaline reaction 

 by the formation of ammonium carbonate, and does not 

 ferment lactose. It forms acid and curd in milk, and 

 acid and gas in glucose. Inoculated on to a damaged 

 mucous membrane the " thrush " patches appear, subcu- 

 taneously it produces an abscess, and injected into the 

 peritoneum a general infection, followed by death and 

 accompanied by a seropurulent peritonitis. 



Cultivation and Examination 



The Hyphomycetes can be cultivated on the ordinary laboratory 

 media, but wort-agar, or wort-gelatin, potato, bread, or maltose 

 agar is to be preferred. 



They can be examined by removing a portion of the growth, 

 teasing up gently with needles in a little 50 per cent, alcohol con- 

 taining a trace of ammonia, removing the surplus fluid with 

 blotting-paper, and mounting in Farrant's solution or in glycerin 

 jelly. If desired, they may be stained by the irrigation method 

 with fuchsin. Thrush may be examined in this way. 



In the tissues they may be stained with hsematoxylin or 

 methylene blue, or by Gram's or by Weigert's method. 



Ringworm 



The ringworm fungi must probably be included in the 

 group of the Hyphomycetes. Human ringworm, formerly 

 regarded as a single disease, has been proved by Sabour- 

 aud to comprise at least two affections, which are dis- 



