The parallelism between the frequency with which certain skeletal regions are involved in tuberculosis and the abundance of their blood supply supports greatly the embolic theory of the pathogenesis of bone tuberculosis.
The vascularization of the costal cartilages proves that tuberculous foci in these regions are often of primary and not secondary nature.
The anatomic, as well as clinical facts, are in perfect accord with the embolic theory. They speak against the criticism of this theory and against the suggested substitute theories.