Infections With Pneumococcus Type Iii and Type Viii

The classification of pneumococci into serologically specific types 1 has rendered possible a thorough study of the distribution of these organisms in health and in disease. The investigation had its inception in relation to lobar pneumonia, but it soon became apparent that this clinical entity comprises a group of specific infectious diseases, alike in their clinical and anatomic manifestations but differing etiologically. 2 The significance of this distinction between the etiologic, as contrasted with the clinico-anatomic, classification has become increasingly important with the advent of serum therapy, which thus far has been shown to be strictly type specific in its action. Furthermore, this consciousness of the responsible bacterial incitant has indicated that the reverse is also true; that is, the same organism, belonging to the same serologic type, may give rise to different clinical pictures in different persons. The latter fact is not emphasized as frequently as the former, because