210 



ing of the tuberculous with the healthy ; eating infectious meats and 

 milk ; the great degree of looseness in social intercourse ; and last' 

 but not least, the constant "giving" and "re-giving" of tuberculous 

 individuals in marriage. 



HOW TUBEECLE BACILLI ENTER TISSUES AND OEGANS. 



(1). Infection by way of the air passages and the lungs. — 

 This is the most common method of infection. The dried 

 sputa and dried infectious materials that float in the air are 

 liable to be carried into the air passages and lungs. Living 

 rooms, churches, school rooms and public halls where per- 

 sons expectorate indiscriminately are not infrequently filled 

 with air infected with tubercle bacilli. The dust-ladened 

 air of dairy barns, where infected cattle are kept, is also in- 

 fected with tubercle bacilli. The dust from handkerchiefs, 

 clothing, beds, bed-clothing of tuberculous persons is nearly 

 always very infectious. The reason that all animals and all 

 men do not become infected is because the germ is a very 

 slow growing organism, and in most instances dies before it 

 gains admission into the tissues of a new host. Further- 

 more, all animals or all men are not susceptible at all times. 

 Full vigor, great bodily vitality and good health are the 

 strongest fortifications against the entrance of any disease- 

 producing germ into the body. 



(2). Infection by way of the Digestive Apparatus. — This 

 mode of infection is a result of carrying the tubercle bacilli 

 into the alimentary canal along with the food, and from 

 there into other parts of the body by way of the lymphatics, 

 blood vessels and possibly by the tissues. This method has 

 been demonstrated experimentally by feeding tuberculous 

 material to pigs, calves, cats, dogs and guinea pigs. Moreover, 

 there have been numerous clinical observations recorded 

 where infants, children and even grown persons have become 

 tuberculous by consuming tuberculous milk or other infected 

 food. Infants, children and young animals (calves and pigs) 

 are more frequently infected by drinking tuberculous milk 

 than in any other way. Whenever the intestines, the 

 mesentery or any of the abdominal organs are the first and 



