nothing in the history that throws any light on either of the infections. It is possible that the mother, being in vigorous health, resisted infection by the organisms that had gained entrance into her system, while the diseased tissues of the fetus offered a favorable site for their localization and multiplication, it having been shown by Lubarsch (Virchow's Archiv, Bd 124, Heft 1) that organisms can and do pass through the intact placenta. It has also been suggested that the infection might

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... ve occurred from outside, say from a preexisting endometritis, through the medium of the fetal membranes. As to the possibility of such a transmission nothing can be said, as, unfortunately, the placenta and membranes were not available for examination. That the infection did not occur either just after or a very short time before birth is shown