BACTERIA AND DISEASE 29I 



It is a slender rod, straight or slightly curved, and remark- 

 able for its beaded appearance ; there are also irregular and 

 club-shaped forms. It differs in size according to its culture 

 medium, but is generally 3 or 4 /a in length. In the mem- 

 brane which is its strictly local habitat in the body — indeed, 

 the bacillus is found nowhere else in the body — -it almost 

 invariably shows parallel grouping, lying between the fibrin 

 of the niembrane, and most largely in its deeper parts. 

 Here it is mixed with other bacilli, micrococci, staphylococci, 

 and streptococci, all of which are present and performing 



vantageous. Meat inspection should also be more strictly attended to ; efficient 

 cooking, and avoidance of " roll " meat which has not been thoroughly cooked 

 in the middle. 



14. Consumptive patients may diminish their disease. Dr. Arthur Ransome ' 

 has laid down five axioms of hygiene for phthisical patients which, if followed, 

 would materially improve the condition of such persons. At Davos, St. Moritz, 

 Nordrach, and other places where they have been practised, the beneficial 

 change has been in m.any cases extraordinary : 



(i) Abundance of light, nutritious, easily digested food, which must 

 comprise a large allowance of fat ; small meals, but frequent ; 



(2) An almost entirely open-air life, with as much sunshine as can be 



obtained ; 



(3) Suitable clothing, mostly wool ; 



(4) Cleanliness and bracing cold-water treatment ; 



(5) Mild but regular exercise. 



15. Consumptive patients may also assist in preventing the spread of the 

 disease. In the first place, they should follow the hygienic directions just 

 mentioned, because such conditions fulfilled will materially lessen the con- 

 tagiousness of such patients ; next, the expectoration must never be allowed to 

 get dry. A spitting-cup containing a little disinfectant solution (one teaspoon- 

 ful of strong carbolic acid to two tablespoonfuls of water) should always be 

 used, or the expectoration received into paper handkerchiefs which can be 

 burnt. Spoons, forks, cups, and all such articles should be thoroughly cleaned 

 before being used by other persons. The patient should not sleep in company 

 with another, but occupy, if possible, a separate bedroom. 



Isolation hospitals for consumptives, as for patients suffering from diphtheria, 

 are now being established. 



16. House influence has some effect, both directly and indirectly, upon tuber- 

 cular diseases. Damp soils, darkness, and small cubic space in the dwelling- 



' Arthur Ransome, M.D., F.R.S., Treatment of Phthisis. 



