Some Observations on the Lymph and Blood Vessels of the Rabbit Trachea

1. Winternitz, Smith, and Robinson have offered as experimental evidence in support of the lymphatic path of infection in lobar pneumonia, a series of injection experiments of the rabbit's tracheal submucosa. What these investigators supposed to be lymphatics are shown by us to be an unusual type of venous supply consisting of short, wide, and richly anastomosing vascular channels. 2. There is little homology between the structure and distribution of the lymph and blood vessels in the human and rabbit trachea. 3. Injections of pneumococci by the tracheal route to produce lobar pneumonia in the rabbit include an intravenous administration of these organisms when the mucosa is pierced or injured.