THE MARCH OF MEDICINE—WINTROBE 377 
A name equal in importance to that of Pasteur in founding the 
science of bacteriology is that of Robert Koch. This man was a dis- 
trict physician in a small Prussian town. His thoughtful wife gave 
him a microscope on his twenty-eighth birthday. We owe her a very 
great debt, for Koch went to work studying anthrax, a disease common 
among the sheep and cattle of his agricultural district, and thus initi- 
ated a series of investigations which revealed the causes of a great 
number of diseases, including tuberculosis. Before the close of the 
nineteenth century there had been discovered the causative agents of 
gonorrhea, suppuration, typhoid fever, malaria, cholera, diphtheria, 
certain types of pneumonia, cerebrospinal meningitis, Malta fever, 
tetanus or lockjaw, plague, botulism, and dysentery. 
The story of the attack on germs, once they were recognized, is an 
exciting and fascinating one. Investigators became interested in the 
method of spread of organisms. There were many proponents of the 
idea that the air is bad and that in this way organisms causing disease 
are transmitted. It has been aptly stated (4) that it was easy to blame 
the air since no one owned a vested interest init. It was more danger- 
ous to find fault with the water supply, for this had its sturdy cham- 
pions in the directors of the various water companies. Yet in many 
places the water supplies were nothing more nor less than diluted 
sewage. 
It is well known now that tuberculosis, diphtheria, undulant fever, 
typhoid, and a number of other diseases can be transmitted by in- 
fected water, milk, or other foods. Yet it has not been easy to convince 
people of this fact and many communities still tolerate laxity in sani- 
tary legislation. Special interests concerned only with financial gain 
and officials unaware of the importance of sanitation are permitted 
to take risks with human life. 
The newer knowledge of the bacterial causation of certain diseases 
naturally led many to wonder why only certain individuals were 
attacked by such bacteria and why even when attacked some did not 
succumb. It had been recognized for centuries that individuals at- 
tacked by certain diseases were not likely to to be attacked again. 
Study of the mechanism whereby the body is able to withstand the 
action of bacteria led to the development of the science of immunology. 
Once some knowledge was gained of the protective mechanisms which 
we possess, scientists were challenged by the problem of developing 
and improving this protective faculty. Thus have come antitoxins, 
serums, and vaccines, and the saving of countless lives. 
THE DEVELOPMENT OF SURGERY 
In Roman times each soldier kept with him a kit of bandages for 
use on himself or for a wounded or bleeding comrade. Such measures 
served well enough for minor injuries. Those who were so badly 
