In 12 cases of septic bursitis seen during 11 years, 11 patients were men and one patient was a woman, with a mean age of 51.3 years. The olecranon bursa was involved in nine cases. Staphylococcus aureus was grown from nine of ten culture-positive fluids. Bursal fluid WBC counts ranged from 1,550/cu mm to 165,000/cu mm, associated with low glucose levels in two cases, but not in three. Treatment with antibiotics and needle aspiration or surgical drainage was successful.