BACILLUS DIPHTHERIjE 



523 



many impoi-tant features, moreover, that the term " pseudodiphtheria 

 bacillus'' is hardly an appropriate one for them. 



Morphology. — Bacillus Hoffmanni is shorter and thicker than 

 Bacillus diphtherise. It is usually straight and slightly clubbed at one 

 end, rarely at both. Stained with Ijoeffler's blue it occasionally shows 

 unstained transverse bands; unlike B. diphtheriae, however, these 





4 



'■X - ^ "' * 



> 







1 > 

 ^ 



^ 





"\ 4 



Fig. 107. — Bacillus Hoffmanni. 



bands hardly ever exceed one or two in number at most. In many 

 cultures the single transverse band gives the bacillus a diplococcoid 

 appearance. 



/Stominfir.— Stained by Neisser's or Roux's method, no polar bodies 

 can be demonstrated. The bacillus forms no spores, is non-motile, and 

 possesses no flagella. 



