Medical Officers of the Army of India.
of stricture. On the 13th April choleraic symptoms manifested themselves and
he died at midnight of the same day.
Symptoms.—Vomiting, purging, suppression of urine and collapse.
Characters of the evacuation from which the Comma-Bacilli were obtained.-
It consisted of a dirty yellowish-grey fluid full of fine particles, and a superincum-
bent mass of clay-colored pulp. The smell was strong and offensive, and the
re-action, at first neutral, becoming feebly alkaline on drying. Plate-cultivations
yielded very scanty crops of colonies of several kinds. The most abundant form
presented themselves as sharply defined, circular patches on the surface of the
medium. When examined under a lens and transmitted light these showed a
pale yellowish, homogeneous centre, surrounded by a distinctly granular, grey
margin. They consisted of commas of very large size, well curved and frequent-
- l y u n i t e d i n t o l o n g s i n u o u s f i l a m e n t s (v
i d e
P l a t e I , f i g
. 4 ) . N o n e o f t h e o t h e r
kinds of colonies were composed of commas of any kind.
This species is very readily distinguishable from all the others and, indeed,
does not appear to be at all closely related to any of them. Morphologically
it is distinguished by the large size and great variability of form of the elements
in different media. The differences in degree of curvature which they present in
different cases are very great. In some, as in that of the original plate culti-
vations, the curvature is very well marked; in others—and the majority of in-
stances—it is only slight, and in some, particularly in potato cultures at an early
stage of growth, it entirely disappears and straight rods alone can be recognised.
Like those of all the other species the elements are capable of active motion.
The growth in common nutritive gelatine is excessively slow, and is unaccom-
panied by any liquefaction of the basis. It is purely limited to the surface,
spreading very slowly from around the orifice of the needle-track.
When cultivated in neutralised Agar-agar media the growth is rapid, but is
confined entirely to the surface, none ever appearing along the course of the
track. It ultimately forms a thick, soft, diffluent, smooth, white stratum which
not unfrequently has a somewhat greenish tinge ( vide Table I ). In non-
neutralised Agar-agar growth also takes place rapidly, appearing conspicuously
within twenty-four hours and soon forming a continuous, thick stratum. Here
also intersticial growth is entirely absent. The elements in the growth on
acid media are often much altered in form, many of them being fusiform ot
plano-convex, and distinct curvature being very rare.
Growth on potatoes occurs much more readily and certainly than in the
case of any other species. It makes its appearance rapidly, being in many
cases readily recognisable within 20 hours subsequent to inoculation. It forms
a thick stratum, which is at first ochreous, but rapidly begins to redden and
ultimately becomes of a strong burnt-sienna tint. The margins are irregularly.
lobate and the surface smooth and excessively shining and polished ( vide
Plate II, fig. 4.). At first, and whilst the growth is extending very rapidly, it
D