TECHNIQUE. 
135 
Sputum. 
Specimens to be examined for tubercle bacilli 
should be collected in clean, wide-mouthed bottles that 
can be tightly corked to prevent leakage. If the out¬ 
side of the bottle has been soiled by the sputum, it 
should be washed off with a 5 per cent, solution of 
carbolic acid. Sputum to be examined for the pneu¬ 
mococcus, influenza bacillus and other organisms 
should be collected in sterile wide mouthed bottles. 
Only sputum coughed up from the lower air passages 
and unmixed with saliva, should be sent. 
Feces. 
The stool may be passed directly into a sterile 
fruit jar or into a sterile bed-pan and then transferred 
to the fruit jar. The specimen may be transferred 
either by pouring or with a sterile wooden spatula. 
If the stool is to be examined for typhoid or dysentery 
bacilli, dip a sterile cotton swab into the stool and place 
into a sterile test tube plugged with cotton. If amebae 
are suspected the stool should be kept as near body 
temperature as possible and submitted to the laboratory 
with as little delay as possible. 
Blood for Widal Reaction. 
The blood is obtained best by pricking the lobe of 
the ear with a needle having a cutting edge. The skin 
should be cleansed with alcohol, and the needle must 
be sterile. The best way to collect the blood is in a 
