of healthy semen.]

[Illustration: Fig. 4.
Microscopic appearance of semen which will not fecundate.]

The victim is unable to concentrate his thoughts, cannot remember what
he reads, and is mentally indolent. He begins to be suspicious of his
friends, has less confidence in others, and desires to be alone, is
despondent and has suicidal thoughts. He has pain in the back, does not
like to walk, and is inclined to lie down. The semen is prematurely
discharged upon attempting coition, and if there be offspring, it is apt
to be feeble or subject to scrofula, consumption, or convulsions. The
genital organs, especially the penis and testicles, diminish in size, as
the disease progresses, lose their energy, and the glands of the penis
become cold and flaccid. There is frequent desire to urinate, chronic
irritation in the neck of the bladder, and pain in the spermatic cord
and testicle, and sometimes in the end of the penis. The microscope
shows that semen involuntarily discharged may be devoid of spermatozoa,
or if present, they are defective, their heads being without tails. The
urine is loaded with mucus or bears up a filmy, membranous, transparent
matter, or it may be covered with a thin fluid having an oily
appearance, but in rare cases is clear. Again, it may hold substances in
solution, which are deposited in crystals or incrust the urine, or it
may precipitate a material having the appearance of brick-dust, and
sometimes semen tinged with blood. The dyspeptic symptoms when present
are followed by diarrhea. The limbs are cramped and rigid, the feet
bloated, and the patient becomes melancholy and relinquishes all hope of
recovery. As the disease progresses, the patient lacks firmness and is
absent-minded.

When the erections are imperfect and the semen is prematurely
discharged, or when a lengthy coition is required before the sperm can
be ejected, it is evident that the patient is rapidly becoming impotent;
the virile powers are vanishing and manhood is surrendering sway to a
merciless foe. We frequently witness this condition in men, even at the
age of thirty-five, when the summit of vigor and strength should only
have been reached. How often are we solicited to restore these lost
hopes and powers! To what tales of ignorance and recklessness, or
submission and remorse, do we repeatedly listen from these unfortunate
sufferers! In patients of this class, sexual intercourse prevents
spontaneous emissions, but it does