CHAPTER VIII 



THE ACUTE CHIEFLY LOCALIZED INFEC- 

 TIONS OF PUS NATURE THE 

 PATHOGENIC COCCI 



So far the general conditions under which bacteria 

 live, grow, and exert their peculiar forces have been 

 considered, but now a more direct study will be under- 

 taken of individual groups and single species, with the 

 object of learning what the various diseases due to 

 microorganisms are, and what relations the germs 

 bear to the clinical disease. 



Perhaps the most frequent condition a nurse has 

 to meet is an abscess or local surgical infection with 

 or without pus. All the technique of hospital work 

 hinges on the fact that organisms capable of producing 

 pus are ubiquitous, and the protection of wounds or 

 of patients of medical cases with their lowered vital 

 resistance, is imperative. There is no one germ that 

 always produces local infection or pus, but many 

 bacteria possess this power. Moreover, some bacteria 

 may produce a simple abscess in one case and a violent 

 inflammation of the heart lining in another. This 

 depends in part upon the virulence of the germ and 

 also upon its mode of entry. If pus cocci fall upon a 

 simple cut in the skin of an otherwise healthy person, 

 a red, dropsical swelling, or an abscess may result. 

 Again, if they fall upon a wound made for an abdomi- 



