us of a revolting scourge, it may even actually favor the solution of
the moral problems which it now obscures.




Chapter III

The Nature and Course of Syphilis


The simplest and most direct definition of syphilis is that it is a
contagious constitutional disease, due to a germ, running a prolonged
course, and at one time or another in that course is capable of
affecting nearly every part of the body. One of the most important parts
of this rather abstract statement is that which relates to the germ. To
be able to put one's finger so definitely on the cause of syphilis is an
advantage which cannot be overestimated. More than in almost any other
disease the identification of syphilis at its very outset depends upon
the seeing of the germ that causes it in the discharge from the sore or
pimple which is the first evidence of syphilis on the body. On our
ability to recognize the disease as syphilis in the first few days of
its course depends the greatest hope of cure. On the recognition of the
germ in the tissues and fluids of the body has depended our knowledge of
the real extent and ravages of the disease. With the knowledge that the
germ was related to certain other more familiar forms, Ehrlich set the
trap for it that culminated in salvarsan, or "606," the powerful drug
used in the modern treatment. By the finding of this same germ in the
nervous system in locomotor ataxia and general paralysis of the insane,
the last lingering doubt of their syphilitic character was dispelled.