Micro-organisms and disease : an introduction into the study of specific micro-organisms / by E. Klein.
- Date:
- 1886
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: Micro-organisms and disease : an introduction into the study of specific micro-organisms / by E. Klein. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. The original may be consulted at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.
25/296 page 5
![CH. I.] ascertain as far as possible the appearances, chemical reactions, and general morphology of perfectly fresh speci- mens. Blood, juices, tissues, and fluids in which the micro- organisms have been growing, are subjected directly, without any previous preparation, to microscopic examination. With artificial nourishing media in which micro-organisms have been growing, the examination of fresh specimens is of great importance, for the reason that the organisms can be easily identified and their size and general morphological characters be more correctly ascertained than after drying, hardening, and staining. Besides, the chemical reactions can be satisfactorily studied in fresh specimens only. All one has to do is to draw up with a capillary pipette or to take up with the point of a needle a drop or particle of the material, to place it on an object-glass, and to cover it up with a thin cover-glass. Where one has to deal with liquids, such as artificial nourishing fluids, blood serum, tissue- juices, secretions, transudations and exudations, no addition is required. In the case of more solid material, such as solid artificial nourishing material, bits of tissue, &c., the addition of a drop of neutral previously well-boiled saline solution (of o-6 to 075 per cent.) is advantageous although not absolutely necessary, since by pressing down the cover- glass a layer of the material sufficiently thin for examination can be obtained. In some instances a bit of tissue can be teased out into fine particles by means of two clean needles. Where it is a question of micro-organisms sufficiently con- spicuous by their shape, size, and general appearance, their identification in the fresh condition is not difficult; this is the case with bacilli, actinomyces, and mycelia, but in the case of micrococci, especially when isolated or in couples, and lying in blood, juices, or tissues, their recognition is often extremely difficult When in large clumps, such -as](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b21938325_0025.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
