bacteriology in a nutshell. 
The Germ of 
the Disease. 
Why Named 
for Pneumonia. 
ten years of age. There have been epidemics of 
the disease in the United States. One of the most 
appalling occurred in a small town in Pennsyl¬ 
vania (population 6,000) in 1864, when it is said 
that some four hundred children lost their lives. 
The very best medical attention and most careful 
nursing are necessary to bring about recovery. 
Pneumonia. Pneumonia is one of the most 
serious of all diseases due to the invasion of 
the human structure by bacteria. The special 
germ to which this disease owes its origin is the 
diplococcus pneumonia, or “Fraenkel’s diplococ- 
cus lanceolatus,” which is also said to producer- 
meningitis, pleurisy and ulcerative endocarditis. 
The disease produced in all cases is an in¬ 
flammation, the manifestation of which 
is modilied by the portion of the body in¬ 
vaded. Pneumonia is an inflammation of the 
lungs, sometimes of one or more of the lobes of 
one lung, sometimes of the lobes of both lungs, 
or it may be an inflammation of all of both lungs. 
Endocarditis is an inflammation of the endocar¬ 
dium or membrane lining the heart. Meningitis 
is an inflammation of the meninges or mem¬ 
branes which enclose and cover the brain and 
spinal cord. These various organs have various 
functions; this function is interfered with when 
the organ becomes inflamed and the symptoms 
are different, while the cause may be the same. 
The germ was discovered first in the lungs in 
pneumonia and took its name from that disease. 
As was mentioned in Chapter I, broncho-pneu¬ 
monia is often caused by other germs, but au¬ 
thorities are of the opinion that in genuine, 
acute, lobar pneumonia the diplococcus pneu- 
60 
