GLOSSARY OF KEY TERMS 
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cisternal puncture (a kind of spinal tap) - the withdrawal of cerebral spinal 
fluid from the back of the skull. 
congenital syphilis - a bacterial disease caused by Treponema pallidum that is 
transferred from mother to child through pregnancy or at birth. 
conjunctiva - a clear membrane that lines the inside of the eyelid and covers 
the eyeball. 
cutaneous - relating to the skin. 
distal - far from the center of the body. 
dorsum of the penis - the upper surface of the penis. 
Duracillin - the procaine salt of penicillin in a peanut oil base, 
foreskin - skin that covers the head of the penis. 
fossa navicularum — the dilated portion of the urethra in the head of the 
penis. 
frenum (plural of frenulum) of the penis - elastic band of tissue that 
connects the glans of the penis to the foreskin and helps retract the foreskin 
from the glans. 
Frew strain — one of the strains of infectious material used by Dr. Cutler and 
his colleagues for the syphilis experiments. 
glans of the penis - head of the penis. 
gonorrhea - a contagious disease caused by the bacterium Neisseria gonor- 
rhoeae. It is transmitted largely through sexual contact with an infected 
individual. 
histologic - relating to microscopic anatomy, such as body tissues and cells. 
hunterian chancre - another term for a “typical” chancre caused by syph- 
ilis — i.e., one that is solitary, round or oval, and has a firm base, a convex 
surface, and a hemorrhagic border. 
immunity — resistance to a particular disease. 
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