The methods usually employed in recording the examination of a specimen of sputum give somewhat meager information regarding the character of the specimen submitted.
A more careful selection of the terms used in the description of the macroscopic appearance of the specimen and of the various elements found on microscopic examination would in many cases give valuable hints as to the character and source of the sputum examined.
Most text-books, under the heading "Macroscopic Appearance," follow Biermer's1 classification of sputum as "mucoid, mucopurulent, purulent, and bloody." They usually describe also the subvarieties which he clearly distinguished but without giving them the definite names which he employed. For instance, many authors call attention to the fact that there are two types of mucopurulent sputum—one of which is homogeneous and the other not. Biermer reserves the name "mucopurulent" especially for the first type. It is homogeneous, tenacious, more or less opaque and