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BIOLOGICAL STUDIES ON THE BACTERIA OF THE MOUTH. 79

superficiallv only, into a paste. Thev grow slowly on boiled
potato. I have, consequently, not yet been able to establish any
definite peculiarity of growth. The reactions of this bacillus are
such as at once establish the fact that it is altogether a diiferent
organism from the comma bacillus of Koch. It possesses, on
the other hand, many of the peculiarities of the Finkler-Prior
bacillus. Whether it is identical with this organism has never
been determined beyond all doubt, though most bacteriologists
believe it to be so.
It must be remarked that this organism is not the one which
is constantly to be found in every mouth. This grows rapidly
on ten per cent, gelatine, while the latter appears to be unable to
grow at all on the same medium.
Not one of the many forms of micro-organisms, curved or
otherwise, which I have obtained in pure culture from the human
mouth, is for a moment to be mistaken for the bacillus of Koch.
I have before shown that micro-organisms occur in the mouth,
which are not destroyed by a solution of artificial gastric juice,
so that they may pass through the stomach into the intestines
and still retain their power of reproduction.
That this should also be the case with curved Fig 28.
bacilli oceurrino- in the mouth, is not at all inipos- J^ f ]\
( ^ Y
sible. On the contrary, it is to be expected that,
*^
under certain conditions, they will be able to pro- ^ ^/
liferate in abnormally large numbers in the intes-
f
tines.
Cu R A' E D
In my own faeces, during a slight diarrhoea, bacilli and
curved bacilli, as well as Spirochaetes, were found Spirilla from
THE F.ECES.
in small numbers (Fig. 28), but they proved as noo:i.
uncultivable as the similar bacilli of the mouth.
As a matter of course, the simple occurrence of a curved rod in
the evacuations will not prove its specific character.
The above examples will suffice to demonstrate the existence of
various screw-forms, which bear no more relation to each other
than do the various species that occur in the form of cocci. They
further show that the form of a fungus alone by no means always
entitles us to draw conclusions as to its specific character. In
doubtful cases this point can be decided by pure cultures alone.