TUBERCULOSIS. LEPROSY 99 



extreme disfigurement : in the tubercular type the 

 nodular growths, especially about the face, often 

 present an oozing, loathsome surface; and in the 

 anaesthetic form necrosis and the separation of the 

 parts occur. 



While there seems to be no doubt of the infective- 

 ness of leprosy, no conclusion has been reached 

 regarding the avenue of infection. The disease 

 shows little tendency to extend beyond the areas 

 where it is endemic, and many healthy persons have 

 lived for years among the lepers without contracting 

 the disease. 



Negroes are more susceptible to leprosy than 

 whites. 



Many authorities believe that the disease is 

 hereditary, but equally good authorities strongly 

 dispute the point. 



All efforts to reproduce the disease in man by in- 

 oculation have failed entirely, and in only a few in- 

 stances has the disease been reproduced in any animal. 



In most countries the segregation of lepers into 

 colonies has lowered the number of cases, but 

 statistics are somewhat misleading, as it is a well- 

 known fact that many lepers have concealed the 

 evidences of the disease for years rather than be 

 separated from their own people. 



