Degeneration of the Gonococcus (in various media)

The ultrastructure of the gonococcus cultivated in different synthetic media and inoculated into the peritoneal cavity of the mouse makes it possible to distinguish the various degenerative morphological states of the microbe. A comparative study of phagocytosis and transformation of the gonococcus by leukocytes together with the changes observed in artificial media discloses a certain resemblance between the different stages of the progression towards L forms. Reversion to normal forms is only possible if gonococcal degeneration has not reached an extreme point and if the new medium compensates for the unfavourable conditions which produced L transformation.