Although culture of Trichomonas vaginalis is more sensitive than wet mounts in the diagnosis of trichomoniasis, the lack of convenience of culture prevents it from being widely used. To improve the acceptability of diagnosis by culture, a plastic envelope method (PEM) was devised. PEM permits both immediate examination and culture in one self-contained system. The medium consists of dry ingredients that are reconstituted with water before use. The effectiveness of immediate examinations by PEM was compared with that of wet mounts, and the effectiveness of culture by PEM was compared with that of culture in Trichomonas Medium No. 2 (Oxoid). Of 710 vaginal secretion specimens from symptomatic and asymptomatic women that were tested by the four methods, 62 (9%o) were positive for T. vaginalis. The sensitivity was 66% by wet mount, 66% by immediate examination by PEM, 89% by cultures in Oxoid medium, and 97% by culture by PEM. The two culture methods had equivalent sensitivities but were significantly (P < 0.0001) more sensitive than the two immediate methods. The combined immediate examination by PEM plus culture was more convenient to use than wet mounts plus culture in Oxoid medium. The long shelf-life of PEM's dry medium and its anticipated low cost are additional advantages.

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Patients with acute gastrointestinal haemorrhage may initially be too ill or uncooperative to undergo diagnostic procedures such as endoscopy, barium x-ray studies, or selective abdominal arteriography. Determination of the bleeding site, however, can be an early and useful clue as to the most likely source. Thus, bleeding mucosal lesions of the oesophagus will show blood at approximately 25 to 40 cm, of the stomach at 40 to 55 cm, and of the proximal duodenum at 55 to 75 cm. The use of various 'string tests' for localization of gastrointestinal haemorrhage has been the subject of several previous articles

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