A study of the bacilli in tissue cultures of lepromata in serum media.

Quantitative inquiry into changes in the numbers of leprosy bacilli following the inoculation of suspensions of lepromatous tissue into a variety of special bacteriological media did not offer any suggestion of multiplication (1). A similar study of the bacilli in small cubes of nodule tissue incubated in or on bacteriological media, or in tissue culture solutions, also failed to reveal an increase in their numbers (2), even after repeated renewal of the nutrient solutions. In view of the decisively negative results, which agree with the general experience of many earlier workers, it has seemed desirable to examine the behavior of leprosy bacilli in tissue cells maintained by in vitro cultivation.