Diplococci

DIPLOCOCCI (from Greek diploos - double), cocci that are arranged in pairs and sometimes (in the organism) surrounded by a capsule. The most important pathogenic D.: gonococcus (see), pneumococcus, meningococcus, etc. Pneumococcus (Diplococcus lanceolatus, Diplococcus pneumoniae Frankel-Weichselbaum), which is the most important causative agent of lobar pneumonia, consists of two cocci that are flattened on the side facing each other; in the organism it has a capsule. Gonococcus - a diplococcus consisting of two individuals shaped like coffee beans. Meningococcus (Diplococcus intracellularis meningitidis), the causative agent of epidemic cerebrospinal meningitis, consists of individuals that have the shape of buns and resemble gonococci (coffee bean or kidney shape). As a property of living in pairs, as well as the form of individual diplococci, these are characteristics that lack absolute value and are typical of D. mainly in the living organism. Thus, in pure culture on artificial nutrient media, pneumococci can have an ovoid or spherical shape and sometimes form short chains, thereby losing the form of D. Gonococci on artificial nutrient media can also lose their typical form, forming clusters, etc. In addition to pathogenic ones, saprophytic forms of diplococci are also not uncommon.