12 INTRODUCTION 



productive power. Such is the effect of antiseptics (as 

 opposed to that of disinfectants). The removal of the an- 

 tiseptic permits normal multiplication again. (In higher 

 organisms too, a reversible cessation of growth can be 

 brought about by aj^plication of toxic substances, but Ave 

 do not usually think of it as a parallel to antisej)sis.) 



The course of death of bacteria is different from that 

 of all multicellular organisms, the death time being re- 

 lated logarithmically to the number of surviving bacteria. 

 This "logarifhmic order of death" is emphasized in Part 

 I of this monograjDh because it is the key to the under- 

 standing of the fundamental cause of death and of the 

 ultimate lethal reaction. The conclusions from Part I 

 are used in Part II to explain the cause of death by dis- 

 infecianfs. Besides, Part II shows the great differences 

 between the mode of action of disinfectants and that of 

 antiseptics. 



