This study was undertaken with the idea of determining, if possible, any relation betwéen the blood cholesterol and the serologic and clinical manifestations of syphilitic infections.
Cholesterol, according to Hawk,1 is a monatomic alcohol containing at least one double bond and possessing the formula of C27H45OH or C27H43OH. The exact formula is somewhat in dispute. It is soluble in ether, chloroform and benzene, and may be crystallized in thin transparent plates. Just as glycerol and the fatty acids unite to form glycerol fats, so cholesterol and fatty acids may form cholesterol fats. The cholesterol fats are more resistant to enzymic and bacterial action than the glycerol fats, and are thus found in the sebum of the skin and in the structural elements of red blood cells and tissue cells (Macleod2).
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Cholesterol probably has two origins, exogenous and endogenous; some