This field shows examples of gram-positive bacteria in pairs, often referred to as diplococci. These are lancet-shaped "diplococci" which could represent Streptococcus pneumoniae. Although the Gram stain is characteristic of S. pneumoniae, the determination of bacterial species always requires confirmatory testing. This particular image is a direct Gram stain prepared from a sputum specimen and does not represent organisms recovered from culture. The large gram-negative, red to pink staining rounded structures in the background are polymorphonuclear (PMN) leukocytes.
