BACTERIUM DIPHTHERI.E 95 



EXERCISE XLVII 



BACTERIUM (BACILLUS) DIPHTHERIA 



144. The bacterium' of diphtheria is often called the Klebs- 

 Loeffler bacillus. It is the specific cause of diphtheria in man ; 

 but it is not, so far as known, the cause of diphtheria in pigeons 

 and poultry. It is found in the throat of people suffering with 

 diphtheria, and often in the throat and nose of those who have 

 been exposed to the disease. These are designated as 

 " germ cases." It is not found ordinarily elsewhere in the 

 body, although it is occasionally discovered in the internal 

 organs and blood. It usually remains in the. throat for some 

 days after its lesions have disappeared. Its appearance in the 

 throat lesions is availed of in diagnosing the disease. For 

 this reason it is especially important that its morphology, as 

 well as its cultural characters, should be carefully determined. 

 Although this organism grows on nearly all of the media com- 

 monly used, its development is more rapid and its growth more 

 characteristic on LoefHer's blood serum. The bacterium of 

 diphtheria seems to be modified in its morphology in growing 

 on different media more than any of the other pathogenic bac- 

 teria. Particular attention should be given to its morphology 

 and staining properties. 



References. — Chapters on diphtheria in text-books. LoefHer, 

 Mitth. aus d. Kais. Gesundheitsamte, Bd. II. Biggs, Park and 

 Beebe, Scientific Bulletin No. i, Health Dept. City of New York, 

 1895. Wesbrook (varieties), Jour. Boston See. Med. Sciences, 

 Vol. IV., p. 75. Report Am. Pub. Health Assc, 1899, p. 546. Hill 

 (branching forms). Ibid., p. 554. Bergey (pseudo-diphtheria), 

 Publications of the University of Pennsylvania, new series. No. 4, 

 1898. Smith (toxin), Trans, of the Asso. of Am. Phys., 1896. (Cur- 

 rent medical literature contains many articles on this subject.) 



