MICROCOCCUS GONORRHOEAE 



The specific purulent urethritis of Gonorrhoea was 

 shown by Neisser to be associated with the pre- 

 sence of a micrococcus differing from those found in 

 ordinary pyogenic processes. By culture and inocu- 

 lation the microbe was shown, chiefly by the work 

 of Neisser and Bunn, to be the cause of gonorrhoea. 

 The gqnococcus in gonorrhceal pus is seen 

 (Fig. 49) to be a diplococcus occurring in groups 

 varying from 8 or 10 to 20 or 30, and these groups 

 are contained almost invariably within the pus cells. 

 The individual cells are about '8 fi in diameter, and 

 are frequently flattened or reniform, the flattened sur- 

 faces being apposed. They stain readily with basic 

 dyes, but are differentiated from the Staphylococci 

 of ordinary pus in that they do not stain by Gram's 

 method. They are found in the pus of gonorrhceal 

 ophthalmia, and also have been described as occur- 

 ring in the articular fluid in cases of gonorrhoeal 

 rheumatism. 



