Here, we have to go a good deal by the history given us. If the woman, during the course of the gonorrhea, had salpingitis, that is, an inflammation of the Fallopian tubes, then we can never say positively that she is cured; all we can say, at best, is: presumably cured. And, further, if she has no pains in the uterine appendages, either spontaneous or on examination, and, if several examinations made within a day or two following menstruation are negative, then we may assume that she is cured. It is important, though, that this examination be made on the last day of menstruation or on the first or second day following; for there are many cases in which no pus and no gonococci will show in the inter-menstrual period, but will appear on those particular days, because, if the gonococci are hidden high up, they are likely to come down with the menstrual blood and portions of mucous membrane that are shed during menstruation. At best, it is a delicate problem, so that whenever there has been the least suspicion that the woman may harbor gonococci I have always advised (as is my custom, to be on the safe side) and directed the woman to use either an antiseptic suppository or an antiseptic douche before coitus. With these precautions adopted, I have never had an accident happen. =The Question of Probable Sterility.= Thus far I have considered the problem of marriage from the standpoint of infectivity. But, we know that, besides the effect on the individual, gonorrhea has also a far-reaching influence on the race; in other words, that it is prone to make the subjects--both men and women--sterile. And a candidate for marriage may, and often does, want to know whether, besides being noninfective, he or she is capable of begetting or having children. In the case of man, the problem is, fortunately, a very simple one. We can easily obtain a specimen of the man's semen and determine, by means of the microscope, whether it contains spermatozoa or not. If it does contain a normal number of lively, rapidly moving spermatozoa, the man is fertile, regardless of whether he ever had epididymitis or not. If the semen contains no spermatozoa, or only a few deformed or lazily moving ones, then he is sterile.