HEREDITARY INFECTION. 63 



It is conceivable that micro-organisms may pass 

 from the mother to the child by way of the blood 

 through the placenta at the inception of labor dur- 

 ing an early stage of separation of the placenta 

 from the. uterine wall. 



Infection of a child, as with gonorrheal ophthal- 

 mia, during delivery is not regarded as an ex- 

 ample of "inheritance" of disease. It is an extra- 

 uterine process, a congenital infection. 



