Studies on the Bacterial Flora of the Respiratory Tract in Acute and Chronic Bronchitis, Bronchial Asthma, and Lung Gangrene

The author of this monograph has attempted to study the occurrence and significance of bacteria in certain pathologic conditions of the respiratory tract. The observations were made during the years 1933 to 1936 in the bacteriologic laboratory of the Norwegian army. While there have been excellent reports on special phases of the bacteriology of the respiratory tract, none have comprehensively evaluated the entire bacterial flora of the tract in relatively common ailments such as bronchitis and asthma.

The work is reported under three major divisions. First, the technic and methods are discussed. In this connection the author presents an account of his attempts to isolate gram-negative anaerobes by selective bacteriostasis with dyes. In thirty specimens of sputum the author was able to isolate fifteen strains of Fusiformis by cultivating the specimens in broth containing a piece of sterile raw potato and varying amounts of brilliant green or crystal violet. The