The Sputum
The Sputum. The examination of the sputum is not rou¬tine by any physician or hospital or sanitarium except those concerned with treating tuberculous patients and those treat¬ing acute cases involving the lungs and bronchial tubes. The chief microscopical examination is for the tubercle bacillus.
The absence of tubercle bacilli from the sputum does not prove the absence of tuberculous involvement of the lung, for these bacilli rarely appear until the condition has become fairly well advanced—until the stage of softening has been reached. The test for these bacilli is definitely not for the layman, as it re¬quires chemicals and heat for staining and the microscope for studying the stained specimen.