CHAPTER XVI 



THE COCCACE^ AND THEIR PARASITIC RELATION- 

 SHIPS 



Diplococcus Gonorrheae (Neisseria Gonorrheae). — The gono- 

 coccus was discovered by Neisser^ in 1879 in the discharge of acute 

 urethritis and he recognized its probable causal relationship to 

 the disease. Cultures were first obtained by Bumm^ in 1885 and 

 he proved the relationship by inoculating the human urethra with 

 his cultures. The orgaaiism naturally lives and multiplies only 

 in the human body and is the cause of gonorrhea and many of its 

 complicating inflammations. x 



The gonococcus is found in both the serum and the poly- 

 nuclear cells of the purulent discharge, usually in pairs with the 

 adjacent surfaces flattened. The long diameter of the pair is 

 about 1 .25^. It stains readily, best perhaps with Loffler's methy- 

 lene-blue. It is decolorized when stained by Grams' method, a 

 fact of great importance in the quick recognition of the organism. 

 The staining procedure has to be carefully carried out and a 

 beginner should practice upon cultures of the gonococcus and upon 

 samples of gonorrheal pus and staphylococcus pus before placing 

 too much rehance upon the appearance of his Gram-stained prepa- 

 ration. The teaction to the Gram stain, together with the re- 

 markably characteristic appearance of the pus cell full of diplo- 

 cocci are usually sufficient for the recognition of the organism in 

 acute urethritis. 



Cultures of the gonococcus were obtained by Bumm on coagu- 

 lated human blood serum. Wertheim^ employed serum agar 



' Neisser: Centralbl.f. d. med. Wissenschaft, 1879, Bd. XVII, S. 497-500. 

 ''Bumm: Deutsche med. Wochenschr., 1885, Bd. II, S. 910 and 911. 

 ' Deutsche med. Wochenschr., 1891, Bd. XVII, S. 958; S. 1351 and 1352. 



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