662 Tuberculosis 



4. Dip the spread from three to five times in the following solution, allowing it 



to run off slowly after each immersion: 



CoraUin i frm. 



Absolute alcohol 100 cc. 



Methylene-blue ad sat. 



Glycerin ■ 20 cc. 



5. Wash quickly in water. 



6. Dry. 



7. Mount. 



TThe entire process takes about three minutes. The tubercle bacilli alone 

 remain red. 



Any possible relation that the number of bacilli in the expectora- 

 tion of consumptives might bear to the progress of the disease was 

 investigated by Nuttall.* 



* 





'.?* ■ '^, ^ ' 



V 



A:. 



Fig. 271. — Bacillus tuberculosis in sputum, stained with carbolic fuchsin and 

 aqueous methylene-blue. X 1000 (Ohlmacher). 



But a glance down the columns of figures in the original article 

 is suf&cient to show that the number of bacilli is devoid of any 

 practical interest, as is only to be expected when one considers the 

 pathology of the disease and remembers that accident may cause 

 wide variations in the quality, if not in the quantity of the sputum. 



Staining the BacUlus in Urine.— The detection of tubercle bacilli 

 in the urine is sometimes easy, sometimes difficult. The centrifuge 

 should be used and the collected sediment spread upon the glass. 

 If there be no pus or albumin in the urine, it is necessary to add a 

 little white of egg to secure good fixation of the urinary sediment 

 to the glass. The method of staining is the same as that for sputum 



*"Bull. of the Johns Hopkins Hospital," May and June, i8gi, 11, 13. 



