A. Blood - media and instructions available upon request from the Microbiology Lab. A transfer device will be distributed with these culture bottles. Test available for limited patient populations only. B. Sputum - collect an early morning specimen on three consecutive days for the diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis. Collect 5-15 mL in a sterile container. Pooled specimens are unacceptable. C. Swabs are suboptimal for the recovery of mycobacteria since they provide limited material and the hydrophobicity of the mycobacterial cell envelope often compromises a transfer from swabs onto media. See bacterial culture for collection and transport of all other specimen types.