GONOCOCCUS 73 



gonococci are present in the purulent discharges. Smears made from such dis- 

 charges and stained by Gram's method and counter stained with eosin or bis- 

 marck brown, show numerous pus cells, many of which contain Gram negative, 

 coffee bean-shaped, diplococci; some pus cells contain only one or several pairs, 

 others are crowded full of cocci; some cocci occur outside pus cells; these free 

 cocci may show isolated pairs here and there or several pairs in a clump. Such 

 findings, in the majority of cases, suffice to establish a diagnosis; culture is 

 seldom resorted to for this purpose. If gonorrhea becomes chronic other organ- 

 isms frequently invade the diseased tissue and may outnumber the gonococci 

 to such an extent as to obscure them. When the disease becomes chronic without 

 secondary infection, and in carriers, examination of discharge or secretion may 

 not show the organisms. Under such circumstances the consumption of several 

 glasses of beer, application of chemical irritants to the affected part, prostatic 

 massage or an orgasm frequently will cause the appearance of gonococci in 

 the urethral secretions. 



Specific amboceptors are present and detectable to a sufficient degree, in 

 cases of more than 6 weeks' duration, to make complement fixation tests 

 valuable adjuncts in the detection of occult infections and hence in determining 

 whether clinical cure is associated with bacteriological sterilization. 



