An Operation for Inguinal Hernia

INGUINAL HERNIA.X WAJlOU I025'o :~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~' P0114tf O-' 54.1 (Case i), and in a third of 24 (Case IIi) failed to destroy the bacillus..2.The gastric secretion may possibly have destroyed the tubercle bacilli in a very weak emulsion to which it was exposed under similar conditions, but the number of bacilli used (100) was so small that it cannot be considered a fair test, and even tlle control test with this weak emulsion proved negative in a guinea-pig. Thle protectioni against the tubercle bacillus afforded by the gastric secretion is apparently by no means perfect.But it muust be remembered tllat tlle dilution of contents and the motor activity of the stomach probably play a large part in this mechanism of protection, and these latter factors cannot be satisfactorily experimented upon in vitro.Thiese results are in general agreement witlh tlle con- clusions arrived at by Allan Maefadyen 6 under different conditions and with bacteria other than B. tuberculosi8 as long ago as 1887.4. In the four cases examilned the untreated gastric juice contained no tuberele bacilli as judged by the inoculation test.We linow of no records which slhow wlhetlher or no tubercle bacilli have been found in gastric juice in persons not suffering from clinical tuberculosis.Tllis point mnay have important bearing on the portals of entry of the bacillus.