622 BIOLOGY OF PNEUMOCOCCUS 



SUMMARY 



There are, of course, many knotty problems regarding the epi- 

 demiology of lobar pneumonia ; the nature of contributory factors 

 and altered physiological states associated with the occurrence 

 and onset of the disease; the carrier state; the mode of dissemina- 

 tion of the infectious agent ; the portal of entrance and pathways 

 of infection in the body ; and the mechanism of crisis and recovery. 

 These problems, while involved in the larger domain of the biology 

 of Pneumococcus, are of less immediate interest to the bacteriolo- 

 gist and immunologist than to the epidemiologist, the physiologist, 

 the pathologist, and the clinician. 



Opportunities for inquiries into the ways of Pneumococcus are 

 by no means exhausted. The prosecution of future studies on the 

 life activities of Pneumococcus cannot fail to bring new gold to the 

 abundant store of solid bullion already accumulated. Those work- 

 ers who are not as yet engaged in this field of biological research, 

 as well as those who are already devoting their energies to solving 

 the riddles presented by this amazing bacterial cell, may, it is 

 hoped, gain some enlightenment and possibly a few prospects in the 

 foregoing reexamination and appraisal of our gains. 



