The Elements of Bacteriological Technique.

by John William Henry Eyre.

PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION

Bacteriology is essentially a practical study, and even the elements of its technique can only be taught by personal instruction in the laboratory. This is a self-evident proposition that needs no emphasis, yet I venture to believe that the former collection of tried and proved methods has already been of some utility, not only to the student in the absence of his teacher, but also to isolated workers in laboratories far removed from centres of instruction, reminding them of forgotten details in methods already acquired. If this a.s.sumption is based on fact no further apology is needed for the present revised edition in which the changes are chiefly in the nature of additions--rendered necessary by the introduction of new methods during recent years.

I take this opportunity of expressing my deep sense of obligation to my confrere in the Physiological Department of our medical school--Mr. J.

H. Ryffel, B. C., B. Sc.--who has revised those pages dealing with the a.n.a.lysis of the metabolic products of bacterial life; to successive colleagues in the Bacteriological Department of Guy's Hospital, for their ready co-operation in working out or in testing new methods; and finally to my Chief Laboratory a.s.sistant, Mr. J. C. Turner whose a.s.sistance and experience have been of the utmost value to me in the preparation of this volume. I have also to thank Mrs. Constant Ponder for many of the new line drawings and for redrawing a number of the original cuts.

JOHN W. H. EYRE.

GUY'S HOSPITAL, S. E.

_July, 1913._

PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION

In the following pages I have endeavoured to arrange briefly and concisely the various methods at present in use for the study of bacteria, and the elucidation of such points in their life-histories as are debatable or still undetermined.

Of these methods, some are new, others are not; but all are reliable, only such having been included as are capable of giving satisfactory results even in the hands of beginners. In fact, the bulk of the matter is simply an elaboration of the typewritten notes distributed to some of my laboratory cla.s.ses in practical and applied bacteriology; consequently an attempt has been made to present the elements of bacteriological technique in their logical sequence.

I make no apology for the s.p.a.ce devoted to ill.u.s.trations, nearly all of which have been prepared especially for this volume; for a picture, if good, possesses a higher educational value and conveys a more accurate impression than a page of print; and even sketches of apparatus serve a distinct purpose in suggesting to the student those alterations and modifications which may be rendered necessary or advisable by the character of his laboratory equipment.

The excellent and appropriate terminology introduced by Chester in his recent work on "Determinative Bacteriology" I have adopted in its entirety, for I consider it only needs to be used to convince one of its extreme utility, whilst its inclusion in an elementary manual is calculated to induce in the student habits of accurate observation and concise description.

With the exception of Section XVII--"Outlines for the Study of Pathogenic Bacteria"--introduced with the idea of completing the volume from the point of view of the medical and dental student, the work has been arranged to allow of its use as a laboratory guide by the technical student generally, whether of brewing, dairying, or agriculture.

So alive am I to its many inperfections that it appears almost superfluous to state that the book is in no sense intended as a rival to the many and excellent manuals of bacteriology at present in use, but aims only at supplementing the usually scanty details of technique, and at instructing the student how to fit up and adapt apparatus for his daily work, and how to carry out thoroughly and systematically the various bacterioscopical a.n.a.lyses that are daily demanded of the bacteriologist by the hygienist.

Finally, it is with much pleasure that I acknowledge the valuable a.s.sistance received from my late a.s.sistant, Mr. J. B. Gall, A. I. C., in the preparation of the section dealing with the chemical products of bacterial life, and which has been based upon the work of Lehmann.

JOHN W. H. EYRE.

GUY'S HOSPITAL, S. E.

BACTERIOLOGICAL TECHNIQUE.

I. LABORATORY REGULATIONS.

The following regulations are laid down for observance in the Bacteriological Laboratories under the direction of the author. Similar regulations should be enforced in all laboratories where pathogenic bacteria are studied.

_Guy's Hospital._

~BACTERIOLOGICAL DEPARTMENT.~

HANDLING OF INFECTIVE MATERIALS.

The following Regulations have been drawn up in the interest of those working in the Laboratory as well as the public at large, and will be strictly enforced.

Their object is to avoid the dangers of infection which may arise from neglect of necessary precautions or from carelessness.

Everyone must note that by neglecting the general rules laid down he not only runs grave risk himself, but is a danger to others.

REGULATIONS.

1. Each worker must wear a gown or overall, provided at his own expense, which must be kept in the Laboratory.

2. The hands must be disinfected with lysol 2 per cent.

solution, carbolic acid 5 per cent. solution, or corrosive sublimate 1 per mille solution, after dealing with infectious material, and ~before using towels~.

3. On no account must Laboratory towels or dusters be used for wiping up infectious material, and if such towels or dusters do become soiled, they must be immediately sterilised by boiling.

4. Special pails containing disinfectant are provided to receive any waste material, and nothing must be thrown on the floor.

5. All instruments must be flamed, boiled, or otherwise disinfected immediately after use.

6. Labels must be moistened with water, and not by the mouth.

7. All disused cover-gla.s.ses, slides, and pipettes after use in handling infectious material, etc., must be placed in 2 per cent. lysol solution. A vessel is supplied on each bench for this purpose.

8. All plate and tube cultures of pathogenic organisms when done with, must be placed for immediate disinfection in the boxes provided for the purpose.

9. No fluids are to be discharged into sinks or drains unless previously disinfected.

10. Animals are to be dissected only after being nailed out on the wooden boards, and their skin thoroughly washed with disinfectant solution.

11. Immediately after the post-mortem examination is completed each cadaver must be placed in the zinc animal-box--_without removing the carcase from the post-mortem board_--and the cover of the box replaced, ready for carriage to the destructor.

12. Dead animals, when done with, are cremated in the destructor, and the laboratory attendant must be notified when the bodies are ready for cremation.

13. None of the workers in the laboratory are allowed to enter the animal houses unless accompanied by the special attendant in charge, who must scrupulously observe the same directions regarding personal disinfection as the workers in the laboratories.

14. No cultures are to be taken out of the laboratory without the permission of the head of the Department.

15. All accidents, such as spilling infected material, cutting or p.r.i.c.king the fingers, must be at once reported to the bacteriologist in charge.