Diagnosis (Recognition of Gonorrhea).
Gonorrhea is an inflammation of the lining of the urethral canal, produced by a certain kind of germ called Gonococci. These germs are so small that millions of them can be found in one drop of pus (matter), and they can be seen under a microscope grouped in pairs, and resembling in shape the halves of coffee beans put together. Gonorrhea is also called a specific urethritis, which means an inflammation of the urethra caused by a specific germ, to be distinguished from a simple non-specific urethritis, produced by other germs not Gonococci.
There is a great difference in seriousness and possibilities of developing various dangerous complications between real Gonorrhea, i. e., specific and simple non-specific urethritis. Simple urethritis is a mild and harmless catarrh of the urethra, which ordinarily clears up in from one to two weeks with a very simple treatment and even without treatment. Simple urethritis never leads to any deep or dangerous complications, never goes into the blood of the patient, and does not carry over affection to the wife and children. Unfortunately, from every hundred cases of urethritis, the majority of them, not less than ninety per cent, are real Gonorrhea, and the balance of ten cases are simple urethritis. For a man who has contracted a venereal affection of this character it is of greatest importance to determine whether his case is a simple urethritis or real Gonorrhea; but this is not as simple as could be desired, and as most of the patients believe it is. It is absolutely impossible to differentiate between real Gonorrhea and simple urethritis by the clinical appearance of the case or to estimate the seriousness and duration of the case by the visible symptoms, such as the amount of discharge, intensity of pains, etc. Not only the patient, but even the physician can not establish the presence of Gonorrhea in the case without a microscopical examination. A man who claims to be able to estimate the nature and seriousness of the case from the looks of things is either an ignoramus or impostor, or both.