March 7, 1902.] 



SCIENCE. 



371 



pears that the different forms of the Bacil- 

 lus diphthericB can be produced by the va- 

 riations of a single type. 



An objection to the validity of these re- 

 isults, of course, can be made by the claim 

 that pure cultures of the various types 

 were not used. The objection seems to me 

 not well taken, on account of the large 

 number of platings and the fact that sev- 

 eral generations were passed before any 

 ■change appeared. These experiments are 

 directly in line with the results already ob- 

 tained by the author in the study of the 

 changes of form observed in the diphtheria 

 iDacillus in the noses and throats of persons 

 immune or becoming so. 



A Note on Branched Forms of Tubercle 

 Bacilli Found in Cultures: M. Dorset, 

 Biochemic Laboratory, Washington, 

 D. C. 



The author describes branched tubercle 

 Tjacilli found in a six weeks' old bouillon 

 culture of human tuberculosis which had 

 "become contaminated with a streptothrix. 

 'The branches were always Y-shaped and, 

 from various stages in the branching found 

 in cover preparations, the author concludes 

 that the branching has probably taken 

 place in the following manner: The end 

 of a rod first enlarges and then probably 

 •separates into two small knobs, which forms 

 have been seen in the cover preparations. 

 These separate knobs grow out and consti- 

 tute the branches. 



An Undescrihed Pathogenic Diplococcus: 

 H. Gideon Wells, Chicago University. 

 This was obtained first in cultures from 

 a subcutaneous abscess on the thigh of a 

 woman, aged twenty-two, with the follow- 

 ing history : When sixteen years of age her 

 Tiand was badly cut by a piece of window 

 glass. The wound became infected and it 

 was nearly a year before it entirely healed. 

 During this time she developed a number 



of subcutaneous abscesses on other parts of 

 the body, which healed slowly. During the 

 six years that have followed she has had, 

 at varying intervals, seldom more than 

 three months, recurrences of the subcuta- 

 neous abscesses, which have appeared at 

 one time and another, over almost the en- 

 tire body. They appear independent of 

 any injury or other known exciting cause, 

 and produce only slight constitutional 

 symptoms. The patient is in fair health 

 otherwise, and is able to work except when 

 an abscess is developing. Physical exami- 

 nation gives no information. Blood count 

 shows 3,862,000 red and 7,100 white cor- 

 puscles two hours after dinner. Cultures 

 from a vein gave the Diplococcus in pure 

 culture at a time when the patient was 

 free from abscesses. Inoculated into ani- 

 mals, the Diplococcus sometimes fails to 

 cause any change. Sometimes it produces 

 a slow emaciation which does not terminate 

 fatally, but more often it causes local ab- 

 scesses. The most characteristic fact is 

 that it can be obtained from the heart's 

 blood of these animals long after subcuta- 

 neous or intraperitoneal inoculation, even 

 when there have been no local lesions, and 

 when the animal seems well. It often pro- 

 duces abscesses at the sites of injuries sev- 

 eral weeks or months after inoculation; in 

 one case, after four months. 



MoriDhologieally, it resembles the Gono- 

 coccus in fresh cultures, sometimes later, 

 becoming more a double sphere. It seldom 

 forms chains or tetrades, does not destain 

 by Gram's method, possesses a capsule that 

 is difficult of demonstration in eiilture, 

 grows well on all ordinary media, liquefies 

 gelatin after three or four days at 24° C, 

 with production of a funnel-shaped exca- 

 vation filled with fluid. It produces no 

 gas nor indol; slowly acidifies milk; pro- 

 duces no pigment ; its growth is slimy and 

 rather tenacious both in solid and liquid 

 media. 



