300 Suppuration 



of staphylococci from lesions of the human skin and mucous mem- 

 branes, came to the conclusion that four varieties are differentiable. 

 Of these, the Staphylococcus pyogenes is the most common and 

 most important. When typical, it produces an orange-colored pig- 

 ment; when atypical, it may be lemon yellow or white. Staph- 

 ylococcus epidermidis albus is a distinct species. The differences 

 between these cocci are shown in the table. 



Staphylococcus Epidermidis Albus (Welch) 



General Characteristics. — A non-motile, non-flagellate, non-sporogenous, 

 slowly liquefying, non-chroraogenic, aerobic and optionally anaerobic, doubtfully 

 pathogenic coccus, staining by the usual methods and by Gram's method, and 

 having its natural habitat upon the skin. 



Under the name Staphylococcus epidermidis albus, Welch* has 

 described a micrococcus which seems to be habitually present upon 

 the skin, not only upon the surface, but also deep down in the Mal- 

 pighian layer. He believes it to be Staphylococcus pyogenes albus 

 in an attenuated condition, and if this opinion be correct, and there 

 is seated deeply in the derm a coccus which may at times cause sup- 

 puration, the conclusions of Robb and Ghriskey, that sutures of 

 cat-gut when tightly drawn may be a cause of skin-abscesses by 

 predisposing to the development of this organism, are certainly 

 justifiable. As the morphologic and cultural characteristics of the 

 organism correspond fairly well to those of the following species, no 

 separate description of them seems necessary. 



Staphylococcus Pyogenes Albus (Rosenbach)! 



General Characteristics. — A non-motile, non-i3agellate, non-sporogenous, 

 liquefying, non-chromogenic, aerobic and optionally anaerobic, mildly patho- 

 genic coccus, staining by the ordinary methods and by Gram's method. 



Although, as stated. Staphylococcus pyogenes albus is a common 

 cause of suppuration, it rarely occurs alone, Passet so finding it in 

 but 4 out of 33 cases investigated. When pure cultures of the coccus 

 are subcutaneously injected into rabbits and guinea-pigs, abscesses 

 occasionally result. Injected into the circulation, the staphylococci 

 occasionally cause septicemia, and after death can be found in the 

 capillaries, especially in the kidneys. From this it will be seen that 

 the organism is feebly and variably pathogenic. 



In its morphologic and vegetative characteristics Staphylococcus 

 albus is almost identical with the species next to be described, dif- 

 fering from it only in the absence of its characteristic golden 

 pigment. 



* "Amer. Jour. Med. Sci.," 1891, p. 439. 



t "Wundinfektionskrankheiten des Menschen," Wiesbaden, 1884. 



