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SUMMARY OF CURRENT RESEARCHES RELATING TO 
was cultivated from fluid obtained by puncturing the spinal canal in tbe 
lumbar region. The cocci were roll-shaped, arranged in pairs or fours, 
some without, others with a more or less definite capsule, and for the 
most part within the cells, so that they presented a considerable resem- 
blance to Gonococcus. The preparations were best stained with plienol- 
fuclisin or phenol-gentian-violet. The most suitable media for their 
cultivation were bouillon and blood-serum, with ascites, either fluid or 
solid. 
Cultures were also obtained on the foregoing media with which agar 
was mixed, but glycerin-agar was a total failure. The colonies were 
white or yellowish-white. Positive results were obtained from inocu- 
lating rabbits and guinea-pigs by injecting pure cultures into peritoneal 
and pleural sacs and into veins, but no results ensued from subcutaneous 
injection. 
Capsules of Bacteria.*' — According to Prof. W. Migula, all or most 
bacteria possess a capsule which is external to and part of the cell mem- 
brane. It behaves differently to pigments, is of different dimensions, 
and if very thin may escape observation. It is composed of albumen, and, 
like flagella, is very difficult to stain, and then only after special mor- 
danting. When dried it parts with its fluid, and thus escapes observation. 
Notzel has also detected capsules in the cadaver and anthrax bacilli, and 
has found that in anthrax cultivated on artificial media the capsule may 
be demonstrated by treating the preparation with 1 per cent, caustic 
potash, then staining with gentian-violet, and finally decolorising with 
acetic acid solution. Capsules are also demonstrable in artificially 
cultivated Streptococcus pyogenes , Friedlaender’s Pneumobacillus , and 
some others. 
Disinfection of the Hands. f — Mr. C. Leedham-Green has prepared 
an exceedingly interesting essay under the title of ‘ A bacteriological 
inquiry into the relative value of various agents used in the disinfection 
of the hands.’ There can be no doubt that the surgical operator conveys 
infection more often by the hands than by any other means. In testing 
the sterility of the hands, sharpened pieces of hard wood have been 
sterilised and used to scrape underneath the nails of the operator, and 
were afterwards dropped into a culture medium. This method has been 
replaced by the use of thin flat slips of ivory with broad angular ends 
and roughened surface ; the ivory can be sterilised with greater certainty 
than the wood, and the broad angular end is much superior to a sharp 
point for scraping the nail fold. For the culture medium the author 
used sterilised agar-agar-glycerin-pepton in tubes. Tubes are preferred 
to plates, as with the latter there is always the danger of accidental 
infection. All the culture tubes were separately sterilised, and tested 
in the incubator before they were used, and the greatest possible care 
was taken to prevent their accidental infection ; everything that came 
into contact with the operators’ hands was subjected to at least ten 
minutes boiling. Water, soap, brushes, antiseptic lotions, and other 
agents were boiled from ten to fifteen minutes. The ivory slips were 
sterilised by repeated prolonged boiling. Control experiments were 
* Deut. Tierartzl. Wochenschr. See Zeitsekr. f. ang. Mikr., ii. (1896) pp. 114-5. 
f See Brit. Med. Journ., 1896, No. 1868, pp. 1109-13. 
