Tubercle bacilli die much more rapidly under anaerobic than under aerobic conditions. Anaerobically, the rate of death is accelerated by increased CO2 pressure, and when certain metabolites (lactate for example) are present in the medium.

Death of the bacilli under certain conditions of anaerobiosis is accompanied by loss of ability to take the acid-fast stain and by progressive cellular disintegration.

These findings are discussed in relation to (a) the glycolytic equipment of tubercle bacilli, (b) their fate in tuberculous lesions.

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Copyright, 1953, by The Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research New York
1953
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