ZOOLOGY AND MEDICINE. 4:49 



minute orifices, b}^ means of which the pathogenic microbes which 

 are so frequently encountered as saprophytes in individuals of good 

 health may invade the organism and occasion there an infection. 

 We may authoritatively enunciate this aphorism: There is no intes- 

 tinal infection without Helminthes to break out a way for the infec- 

 tious microbes. This alone would suffice to revive our interest in the 

 Helminthes, even if it had not been shown by recent experience in 

 colonial medicine that animal parasites are much more noxious than 

 has generally been supposed ; they play, in fact, a principal part in 

 the pathology of hot countries. 



I here return to a topic which is particularly dear to me. I am a 

 strong partisan of colonial expansion, and I believe firmly that it 

 can have no safer guide than medicine. Now, the great majority of 

 the diseases of hot countries are caused by parasites, and these para- 

 sites are, for the most part, of animal nature. As science is making 

 great jn'ogress in this particular domain, and as from one year to 

 another there arise questions that are really unforeseen, it seemed to 

 me necessary to create at Paris, close beside the Faculty of Medicine, 

 a complementary course of instruction rapidly comprehensive in char- 

 acter, by means of which colonial physicians returning to the metrop- 

 olis could inform themselves iuWy regarding these new questions. 

 P'rom this idea was born the Institute of Colonial Medicine, which I 

 had the happiness of founding in 1902, thanks to the support of the 

 University of Paris. The persons who take up the courses " are, for 

 the most part, physicians who have liven in the Tropics and Avho are 

 desirous of perfecting themselves in the new methods of investigation. 

 They return thither better armed for scientific research, knowing 

 what are the desiderata of the present moment, capable of pursuing 

 researches that are always delicate, their minds awakened and ani- 

 mated with the most ardent desire to do useful work. There is reason 

 to hope that their efforts will not be in vain and that they will eluci- 

 date some of the questions that are yet obscure. 



We may sa}^, indeed, that by thus enlarging our scope and extend- 

 ing our studies to exotic pathology we have opened an immense field 

 for medical zoology. A number of other important problems Avill 

 soon be taken up, among which the toxicology of animal parasites 

 is of primary importance. 



We have become familiarized with the idea that bacteria eliminate 

 toxines. Roux and Yersin proved the existence of such and the part 

 which they play in diphtheria. Since this masterly demonstration no 



a The fifth session was held from October to the end of December, 1905. The 

 institute has issued up to the present time 133 diplomas of colonial medicine of 

 the University of Paris, about half of which went to foreigners, the greater part 

 of these being Spanish-Americans. 



SM 190G 29 



