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80 THE MICRO-ORGANISMS OF THE HUMAN MOUTH.

Sj>,'rorhcef(' dcntium.
SpirochfBte denticola (S[)iroch{ete dentium, tooth spirocluiete) is
not found in decaying dentine, but in the same places in which
Spirillum sputigenum is found, i.e., under the margins of the
gums, when they are covered with a dirty de-
Fin. 29
posit and slightly, inflamed,—in other words,
in cases of gingivitis marginalis. This bac-
terium exhibits spirals from 8-25/^ loug, of
very irregular windings and unequal thick-
ness, whicli manifest a great ditference in their
aflinity for coloring-matter. The thicker
ones usually take it up much more readily
than the thin ones ; they also have fewer and
broader windings (Fig. 20).
It is a question whether we have not to
scrkw-forms
deal with two different organisms, the thicker
(Spieili-a axd Spiro
ch-etes) from the
of which may possibly represent a stage of
Mouth.
development of Spirillum sputigenum. The
1100: 1.
development and pathogenesis of Spirochete
dentium is as obscure as that of the other above-mentioned
uncultivable mouth-bacteria. Neither do we know anything
definite as to their vital conditions and manifestations (fermenta-
tion, pathogenic action, etc.).

Mouth-Bacteria which are Vncultivable and whose Patho-
genesis IS UNKNOWN.

Under this head belong all the mouth-bacteria proper, as well
as a bacterium of enormous dimensions which I discovered in
great numbers in the mouth of a dog sufi'ering from pyor-
rhoea alveolaris, and which I have designated by the name Lepio-
thrii: gigantea (Fig. 30). It appears in forms of tufts or fascicles
whose threads diverge from a point of adhesion in different
directions, somewhat like those of Crenothrix. It forms cocci,
rods and threads, and therefore belongs to the pleomorphous
bacteria. The threads of the same tuft may vary considerably
in thickness, some relatively very thin, others very thick. The
larger threads often sho\v a diflercnce in diameter between the

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