Diphtheria / by William P. Northrup ; measles, scarlatina, German measles / by Theodor von Jürgensen ; ed., with additions by William P. Northrup ; authorized translation from the German, under the editorial supervision of Alfred Stengel.

  • Northrup, William P. (William Percy), 1851-
Date:
1902
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Diphtheria / by William P. Northrup ; measles, scarlatina, German measles / by Theodor von Jürgensen ; ed., with additions by William P. Northrup ; authorized translation from the German, under the editorial supervision of Alfred Stengel. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    the deposit already formed tliere. Tn two or three weeks the cloudi- ness begins to disappear, and in several months the bouillon has be- come perfectly clear. The film is usually preserved. The acid reac- tion may set in early or be delayed for some time. Sooner or later alkalinity begins to take ])lace. Madsen found that the same cultures in the same bouillon, placed under conditions as nearly identical as possil)le, showed different de- grees of acidity at the same time, a fact which he was unable to explain satisfactorily. In alkaline and neutral bouillon the cloudiness and the film on the surface appear early (twenty-four to forty-eight hours). According to Schabad, the maximum acidity in the cultures occurred most often on the second day; occasionally on the third, and rarely on the fourth or later. As to whether this acid formation is characteristic of the true diph- theria bacillus, as opposed to the class of pseudodiphtheria bacilli, there is still a question among different observers. The majority are agreed, however, that this characteristic is an ini])ortant one in making a differential diagnosis between them. Growth on Other Media.—^The growth on gelatin is slow and scanty, and not characteristic. On the ])otato, according to some authors, the bacillus grows well. Schabad was unable to find any true growth. Park describes the growth as a thin dry glaze near the ])oint of inoculation. In milk, the diphtheria bacillus grows well and at a low temperature —2()°C. (f)(S° (Sternberg). The appearance of the milk is unchanged. On albumin, according toO(‘lpke, the diphtheria colonies show a peculiar salmon color, which he believes is secai in no other bacteria. Schabad was unable to confirm this, and found the growth scanty and not char- acteristic. Other media which have not shown definite results are urine-agar and alkaline serum (recommended by Cobbet). On antitoxin serum, according to de Martini, true diphtheria ba- cilli do not grow. Friinkel, S|)ronck, Januszewska, Gelpke, and Schabad found that the true diphtheria bacilli as well as the pseudo- diphtheria grew well in this medium. In ascitic fluid, according to Januszewska and Schabad, the Lbfller bacillus grows well and forms no diffuse cloudiness. There is, more- over, a marked deposit seen at the bottom of the vessel. Agglutination.—This subject has been studied by Fninkel, Nicolle, Bruno, and others, and more recently by Lubowski. The latter, in studying several cultures of absolutely atoxic and avirulent diphtheria 3