360 BACTERIOLOGY. 



rule, these spores are devoid of the high resistance to 

 heat exhibited by bacterial spores, and are stainable by 

 the ordinary methods. 



The limits of this group are ill defined and its recog- 

 nized components are not as a whole well understood. 



The longest known and most carefully studied strep- 

 tothrices are s. actinomyces, s. madurse, s. farcinica, 

 and s. Eppingeri, although many other varieties have 

 been encountered in association with important and in- 

 teresting pathological lesions. 



The fact that certain bacteria, viz., b. tuberculosis, 

 b. mallei, b. diphtherias, generally regarded as bacilli, 

 are, as a rule, segmented and occasionally show a ten- 

 dency to branch, has led to their being classified at times 

 with the streptothrices ; on this point, however, there is 

 as yet no consensus of opinion. 



It is interesting to note that the pathological lesions 

 in which streptothrices have been detected shoAv in 

 many cases certain similarities to true tubercular proc- 

 esses, and in a few instances, save for the absence of 

 tubercle bacilli, as we usually see them, were indistin- 

 guishable from tuberculosis. 



More or less imperfectly studied varieties of strepto- 

 thrices have been encountered in abscess of the brain, 

 cerebrospinal meningitis, endocarditis, bi'onchopneu- 

 monia, pleuropneumonia, pustular exanthemata, abscess 

 of the lung, bronchiectasis, pulmonary gangrene, necrosis 

 of the vertebrae, subphrenic abscess, noma, pseudotuber- 

 culosis, etc. 



In some cases the streptothrix can be obtained in 

 culture from the diseased tissues ; almost as often it 

 cannot. Sometimes the inoculation of animals with bits 

 of the diseased tissue or with cultures results in the pro- 



