In spite of the vast amount of study and research already directed toward its various puzzling problems, congenital syphilis remains baffling in its behavior. Many phases of the infection are still obscure. Its vagaries are difficult of explanation.
The wealth of material available at Grady Hospital, Emory University division, a general hospital for the treatment of Negroes in Atlanta, seemed to offer an unusual opportunity for investigation. During the past six years, in collaboration with Dr. J. R. McCord of the department of obstetrics, certain routine data have been collected on all infants in the new-born service, and subsequently these infants have been followed in the outpatient department. When one considers the persistency of the infection over periods of many years, even to subsequent generations, the duration of this study seems indeed short, and nothing final can be claimed for the findings. Therefore, it is offered as a preliminary study