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Scientific Proceedings (107). 



could be recovered from the circulating blood from the time an 

 infection could first be detected clinically (12 to 14 days) until 

 regression of the primary lesions took place. The number or the 

 virulence of the organisms as indicated by the incubation period 

 and the constancy of infection in subinoculated animals varied, 

 however, according to the stage of development and the state of 

 the reaction in the primary lesions. 



A small series of animals was then bled arbitrarily one week 

 after inoculation and it was found that even as early as this, the 

 number of organisms in the circulating blood was sufficiently 

 great for each 0.5 c.c. of blood to constitute an infecting dose. 

 In view of these facts, there seemed to be no immediate object in 

 further reducing the time limits. 



The Establishment of a (True) Generalized Infection. — When it 

 had been shown that Treponema pallidum appeared to be widely 

 distributed through the body within a very short time after 

 inoculation, it was considered necessary to determine whether a 

 true generalized infection had been established in these animals 

 or whether the organisms proved viable only because they were 

 transferred to such a favorable medium as the testicles of normal 

 rabbits. For this purpose, 10 rabbits were inoculated in the right 

 scrotum only (using implants), and 48 hours later, the entire right 

 scrotum and testicle were amputated under ether anesthesia. 

 In spite of the complete removal of a wide zone surrounding the area 

 of inoculation, 9 of the 10 rabbits showed well-marked infections 

 by the end of the seventh week and the tenth developed lesions 

 at the end of 2% months after inoculation. 



Conclusions. — These experiments show that following a local 

 inoculation of well adapted strains of Treponema pallidum, there 

 is an immediate invasion of the tissues of the animal and that 

 within a very short time, organisms may be recovered from both 

 the regional lymphatics and the circulating blood. They also 

 show that the blood stream infection tends to pursue a course 

 parallel with that of the primary lesions. Finally it was shown 

 that within 48 hours or less, a true generalized infection had been 

 established which was capable of maintaining the infection in the 

 animal independent of that at the site of inoculation. 



