As a part of a general investigation of hereditary syphilis, 100 consecutive cases of the infantile type were tabulated for special study. Some points were brought out in this way on which little stress is placed in the usual textbook discussion of hereditary syphilis, and it has seemed of sufficient value to put some of the results of the study on record.
From a clinical standpoint we divide hereditary syphilis into fetal, infantile, late or tardy, and latent types. The term infantile we limit to those cases in which the signs develop after birth and during the first year of life. Although the infection in all types takes place in utero, we limit the term fetal syphilis to those infants in whom manifest signs of lues are present at the time of birth; thus it includes abortions, stillbirths, and both premature and full term living infants. Late syphilis was discussed