A STUDY OF SYPHILIS OF THE AORTA AND AORTIC VALVE AREA*

T H E widespread interest now manifested in the early diagnosis and ade-quate treatment of syphilis would seem to justify once again a review of the tragic effects of this disease on the cardiovascular system. The term " car-diovascular syphilis " is widely used but, in order properly to understand the evolution of the disease, the term "vascular syphilis " would be prefer-able. Excepting only cerebral vascular syphilis and rare involvement of other vessels (as the innominate artery), vascular syphilis in the great ma-jority of cases resolves itself into syphilis of the aorta. Primary involve-ment of the aortic valves and heart, although it does occur, is rare. Syphilis of the aorta must be recognized as a progressive pathological process. The possibility that the aorta is invaded early by the Treponema pallidum in all untreated cases and, as many believe, even in the first few weeks of the disease, calls for the application of early and prolonged treatment which will effect sterilization and a biological cure. Any campaign which fails to appreciate that all the serious late manifestations of this disease originat