226 
SOCIETY MEETINGS. 
The conclusions which I have drawn from my experience 
are, first: that the hog is the most susceptible of all our meat 
producing animals; that owing to the age at which he is 
slaughtered he seldom reaches the extreme advanced stages and 
is scarcely ever emaciated to a marked degree ; that, together 
with the rapidity of slaughter, and the location of the diagnos¬ 
tic tubercles, it is liable to escape the eye of the most careful 
inspector; that, owing to the generality of the disease and the 
dissemination of poison in the muscular tissue, the meat should 
be considered noccuous; that, owing to the amount of heat 
which the spores will resist, and knowing that large quantities 
of meat are consumed while yet insufficiently cooked to destroy 
these spores, and knowing that they are within themselves ex¬ 
ceedingly dangerous to the human body, I would recommend 
the condemnation and destruction of all swine affected with 
tuberculosis. 
DISCUSSION OF DR. REEDY’S PAPER. 
Dr. Stezvart; According to the arrangements of the pro¬ 
gramme, it falls to me to open the discussion on the paper just 
read. I desire to compliment the essayist upon this most excellent 
presentation of a very interesting subject. The essayist has fol¬ 
lowed out the disease processes so completely that there is little 
room for discussion along that line. However, I may be able to 
offer a few remarks that will stimulate thought to others and 
which they will offer in this discussion. The paper deals very 
largely with phagocytosis, and as I understand the theory it 
is a correct presentation of the subject. There are some points, 
however, which I think it would be valuable for us to consider. 
There is one feature of this theory of phagocytosis which the 
essayist did not touch upon, and which to me is a most interest¬ 
ing one. I refer to the problem of the manner or process by 
which the bacillus tuberculosis finds entrance into the solid tis¬ 
sues when introduced into the respiratory or alimentary tracts. 
It seems that ordinarily the epithelial structures are capable of 
resisting the invasion unless there be an abrasion of the superfi¬ 
cial layers. I have no recollection that bacteriologists claim 
that the tubercle bacillus has motor power or has the power of 
* migration. There is a theory that the bacillus, probably 
through a substance which it secretes, is capable of irritating 
the mucous surfaces and stimulating the phagocyte to reach 
through the superficial structures and grapple with the bacillus 
in an endeavor to effect its destruction, and upon withdrawal of 
the phagocyte the bacillus is carried within the solid tissues. 
