408 AN ADDRESS ON THE RELATIONS OF 
cannot doubt were originally present, had been already almost entirely got 
rid of. No sooner had the abscess been relieved of the tension occasioned by 
the pus pent up within it (while at the same time the entrance of septic ferments 
was prevented) than the inflammation, following the natural bent of all inflam- 
mations when all causes of irritation are withdrawn, proceeded rapidly to subside, 
and the tissues of the pyogenic membrane and surrounding parts, regaining 
their normal vigour, were then able to dispose of the micrococci with which 
they were infiltrated, just as the organism disposes of ordinary bacteria of 
various kinds after they have been injected into the circulation. Surely the 
natural, if not the inevitable, interpretation of this course of events is that the 
essential cause that kept up the acute inflammation of the abscess and pre- 
vented it from subsiding, like that which maintained the chronic inflammation 
of the bursa patellae, was the tension of the accumulated fluid, and that the 
presence of the micrococci was of entirely insignificant importance. Hence 
I am disposed to regard the view which has been taken of this matter by Mr. 
Cheyne as the one most consistent with the present state of our knowledge— 
viz. that the micrococci are, so to speak, a mere accident of these acute abscesses, 
and that their introduction depends upon the system being disordered. It has 
been now abundantly established by the observations of Mr. Cheyne himself, 
as well as by those of Dr. Koch and other observers, that in the healthy state 
of the animal body there are no micro-organisms present among the tissues. 
It is certainly a marvellous thing that the animal body is able so to fence itself 
against the introduction of these minute living beings so disposed to diffuse 
themselves in organic liquids, considering the innumerable channels which seem 
so well adapted for their reception: the respiratory passages and the alimentary 
canal, with the openings of the countless ducts, cutaneous and mucous. But so 
itis. It is only in a state of unhealthiness that the ordinary forms of bacteria 
can enter the circulation and establish themselves in the organism. It would 
appear that in the healthy body even pathogenic bacteria must enter in certain 
numbers to be able to survive ; even the most virulent forms of micro-organisms 
must be introduced in a certain amount. If they are very much diluted, even 
they cannot survive in the animal body; but with regard to these ordinary 
micrococci of which we are speaking, they do not survive among our tissues 
except in a state of disorder of the system, local or general. Mr. Cheyne will, 
[I hope, have the opportunity of bringing before us some fresh facts in elucidation 
of this subject. From what he has already published! we know that by lower- 
ing the system of an animal, such as a rabbit, by the administration of phosphorus, 
he has brought about a condition in which micrococci do enter the system and 
* Tyvansactions of the Pathological Society of London, vol. xxx, p. 557- 
ee 
