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Löffler's Medium
Löffler's medium is a special substance used to grow diphtheria bacilli to confirm the diagnosis. History In 1887, Friedrich Loeffler devised a culture medium containing horse serum, meat infusion, and dextrose for use in the cultivation of corynebacteria and for differentiating them from other organisms. Perry and Petran suggested modification of the original formulation. Buck, in 1949, described a modified Loeffler's medium for cultivating ''Corynebacterium diphtheriae''. Uses This medium has a variety of uses in microbiological investigations. The current formulation incorporated these later modifications: # The primary value of Loeffler medium is in the growth and morphological characterization of members of the genus'' Corynebacterium''. This formulation enhances the formation of metachromatic granules within the cells of the organisms. # Due to its serum content, Loeffler medium can be used for the determination of proteolytic activities of microorganisms. # The gray-w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Diphtheria
Diphtheria is an infection caused by the bacteria, bacterium ''Corynebacterium diphtheriae''. Most infections are asymptomatic or have a mild Course (medicine), clinical course, but in some outbreaks, the mortality rate approaches 10%. Signs and symptoms may vary from mild to severe, and usually start two to five days after exposure. Symptoms often develop gradually, beginning with a sore throat and fever. In severe cases, a grey or white patch develops in the throat, which can block the airway, and create a barking cough similar to what is observed in croup. The neck may also swell, in part due to the enlargement of the facial lymph nodes. Diphtheria can also involve the skin, eyes, or genitals, and can cause complications, including myocarditis (which in itself can result in an cardiac arrhythmia, abnormal heart rate), peripheral neuropathy, inflammation of nerves (which can result in paralysis), proteinuria, kidney problems, and bleeding problems due to thrombocytopenia, low ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bacilli
Bacilli is a Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic Class (biology), class of bacteria that includes two orders, Bacillales and Lactobacillales, which contain several well-known pathogens such as ''Bacillus anthracis'' (the cause of anthrax). ''Bacilli'' are almost exclusively gram-positive bacteria. The name ''Bacillus'', capitalized and Italics, italicized, refers to a specific genus of bacteria. The name Bacilli, capitalized but not italicized, can also refer to a less specific taxonomic group of bacteria that includes two orders, one of which contains the genus ''Bacillus''. When the word is formatted with lowercase and not italicized, 'bacillus', it will most likely be referring to shape and not to the genus at all. Ambiguity Several related concepts make use of similar words, and the ambiguity can create considerable confusion. The term "''Bacillus''" (capitalized and italicized) is also the name of a genus (''Bacillus anthracis'') that, among many other genera, falls within the cl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
