HAEMOPHILIA  , the medical

term for a condition of the vascular system, often running in families, the members of which are known as " bleeders," characterized by a disposition towards bleeding, whether with or without the provocation of an injury to the tissue . When this. bleeding is spontaneous it comes from the mucous membranes, especially from the nose, but also from the mouth, bowel and bronchial tubes . Slight bruises are apt to be followed by extravasations of blood into the tissues; the swollen joints (knee especially) of a bleeder are probably due, in the first instance, to the escape of blood into the joint cavity or synovial membrane . It is always from the smallest vessels that the blood escapes, and may do so in such quantities as to cause death in a few hours .