302 THE WONDERFUL HOUSE THAT JACK HAS 



illness, too long-continued over-exertion, lack of nutri- 

 tion, loss of sleep, or some other condition that tends 

 to make one less able to resist attack. 



The usual beginning place of the bacilli's work is 

 in the topmost part, called the apex, of either one or 

 both lungs. If the disease is not arrested, it spreads 

 to other parts of the lungs. Should the vitality of 

 the patient not be restored to such a degree that the 

 bacilli cannot go on with their work, lung tissue will 

 be destroyed, cavities will be formed, and finally death 

 will result. 



Occasionally an early warning of the disease comes 

 from the spitting of blood. More commonly, how- 

 ever, its progress is so slow and insidious as to escape 

 notice for a considerable time. The patient's friends 

 may observe his gradual loss of flesh, and he himself 

 may be conscious of becoming weak and tired more 

 easily than was usual with him. He has a persist- 

 ent cough, either at intervals during the day, or per- 

 haps only at night and on rising in the morning; and 

 his reply to the inquiries of solicitous friends is that 

 he never had a cold hang on like this one. There 

 may be occasional slight pains in the chest, shoulders, 

 and back, though these often do not occur or are not 

 noticed. 



Feverish symptoms, indicated by rise of the body 

 temperature above its normal point, ninety-eight and 

 six-tenths degrees, in the afternoons and particularly 

 in the evenings, may be present from an early period. 



