These micro- organisms vary in their
affinity for certain tissues, some find
ing the valves or the lining membrane
of the heart the most favorable, others
the kidneys, while still another class
may locate 6n the joints. In fact, there
seems to be no limit to the organs or
tissues in which the various members
of this family may find a congenial
habitat Having once located in a fav
orable environment in the body, they
again form colonics, and, exuding
their toxin, so poison and lower the
activities of the cells of the tissues
upon which they are located that
these cells eventually find it impossi
ble to properly functionate and carry
on their individual work, and we have
the beginning of a diseased tissue or
organ of the body. It is because the
action of these saphophytes is so slow
and possesses such a low virulency
that the medical and dental proces
sions at large have failed to grasp,
as yet, what a terrible menace these
focal infections are to human life, and
again the sad fact is that they are so
exceedingly common, for nearly every
adult has one or more pulpless teeth
in his mouth, and nearly every adult
will show under the X-ray affected
areas above such pulpless teeth. If
the resistance remains high they may
carry such infection for ten yes. 20
years, but a colony of these bacteria
living within bone bone tissue and ex
uding their toxin into the blood stream
will sooner or later create cystematic
disturbances, which, if hot taken in
time, will mean the beginning of the
end. Recently the writer has been,
F. COMMUNIQUE
demonstrating for his own satisfaction
whether the streptoccocus viridans
found in these infections had devel-
oped the nature of a pathogen. In a
number of cases cultures made from
i infected roots proved fatal within ror-
ty-eight hours after their injection in
i to mice.
