132 SYPHILIS. 



hence their permanence and quasi-organic character. Bearing 

 in mind that an increased afflux of blood plays a chief part in 

 the phenomena of inflammation, we might designate inflamma- 

 tions as disturbances of nutrition, tumours as disturbances of 

 growth. Nevertheless, the opposition is one not of contra- 

 dictories, but of contraries onh', which are connected by several 

 series of intermediate members. One series conducts from in- 

 flammation through the intermediate phases of inflammatory 

 overgrowth and simple overgroAvth to those more complex forms 

 of overgrowth which we call cancers. Another leads from 

 simple inflammation through specific inflammation to those more 

 perfect imitations of normal tissue, which we call sarcomata, 

 enchondromata, myxomata, &c. , and which, taken together, form 

 the histioid group. The former series is chiefly exemplifled in 

 the disorders of the skin, mucous membranes, and glands ; the 

 latter will be dealt with at once. 



§ 109. The specific inflammations differ from ordinary 

 inflammation in that they furnish either instead of, or together 

 with the i^lastic exudation, certain products which exhibit special 

 anatomical peculiarities. These are typical for each individual 

 form, and may be referred broadly to the special quality of the 

 inflammatory irritant. This irritant is in every case a specific 

 virus, which may be introduced into the organism either by 

 hereditary transmission or by contagion, or primarily developed 

 in the organism itself. 



§ 110. Syphilis. Constitutional syphilis maintains a ten- 

 dency in the body to every morbid change that comes under 

 the head of active hyperasmia, inflammation, and inflammatory 

 pTOwth. In the earliest stao;es of the disease it is the more 

 superficial organs, the skin and mucous membranes, which are 

 chiefly affected ; in the later stages the deejoer j^arts become 

 involved as well ; we shall come across examples of syphilitic 

 inflammation when we come to treat of the morbid anatomy of 

 the osseous and nervous systems, of the liver, and the testicle. 

 These inflammations are all distinguished by certain peculiarities 

 in their localisation, their distribution, and their course. One 

 product however merits our esj^ecial notice ; it seldom occurs 

 alone, but is usually associated with the simpder forms. I refer 

 to the syphilitic gumma (syphiloma, Wac/ner). The gumma 

 may be termed a specific jDroduct of syphilis ; its specific ana- 



