STAINING.—The following stains have been used:— Wedl's orscille (Weigert).
Eosin (Marchand).
Cochineal—red (Dunker and Mag nussen).
alum (Moosbrugger). Gram's method — section staining (Partsch).
Safranin in aniline oil, followed by K. I. (Babes).
Solution of orcein in acetic acid (Israel).
Pierocarmin—fungus, yellow; other parts, red (Baranski).
The actinomyces in a section are best shown by Gram's method, first with methyl-violet, then with Bismarck brown (Tillmann).
CULTIVATION.—It is difficult to culti vate in coagulated blood-serum (O. Israel), coagulated blood-serum and agar-agar (Bostrom), and coagulated egg-albumin and agar-agar (Wolff and J. Israel).
From 5 typical cases of human ac tinomycosis numerous inoculations were made upon various media, which were kept partly under aF!roluc. partly under conditions; growth of strepto thrix actinomyces took place in only 20 of G4 primary cultures. After the first generation the organism did better when grown without oxygen; the actinomyces grew well when inoculated in eggs in the usual manner. The colonies consisted of longer and shorter threads, which stained by Gram's method, and always presented true branching, although sometimes the branches were hard to find: the cultures were rather short lived; in one case the growths lived through 11 generations during 7 months; in two cases through 4 generations in months, but in five cases death oc curred after the first generation. In inoculation experiments on rabbits, guinea-pigs, and mice a fatal actinomy cosis was not produced, although many features recalled the pictures of the disease. Francis Harbitz (Norsk Mag.
f. Laegevidensk., vol. lix, p. I. '9S).
has been successfully carried out by James Israel and Ponfick, from tissue and from pure cultures.
In one inoculation experiment a char acteristic deep-yellow tumor was found in the liver. proving a general infection. In all other inoculation experiments the author had found the tumor remaining limited to the peritoneal cavity and con sequently improbable of causing general infection. Max \Volfi (Deut,,che med. Woch., Mar. 1, S, '94).
Opinions differ as to its power of pro ducing pus, a secondary infection by the pus-germs being thought the true cause of the pus sometimes found with actin omycosis. Dissemination by the lym phatic system never occurs. Glandular enlargement indicates secondary infec tion.
In pure infection with the actinomyces fungus the pus secreted is not always thin. This fungus alone, without the admixture of the ordinary pus-producing u, I-lay-fungus or masses, showing central mycelium of actinomycosis. b. White blood-corpuscles, showing their rela tive size. (Ponect and 136-artl.) micro-organisms, can produce suppura tion. The entrance of the common pus producing micro-organisms into actino mycotic foci does not kill the fungus: but, on the contrary, may bring about such conditions as favor its develop ment. Kozerski (Archiv f. Berm. u. Syphilis. B. 38, H. 2. '96).