TEACHING OF PHYSIOLOGY AND PUBLIC HEAI/TH. 35 



inflammation is due to the introduction of a foreign organ- 

 ism. And when finally the celebrated Lister, of Eng- 

 land, perfected his methods of antiseptics in surgery, the 

 scientific basis was laid for present surgical skill. Only 

 three years later, in 1875, Klebs succeeded in rinding the 

 bacillus of diphtheria. 



Then what a contribution it was to medical knowledge 

 when the German bacteriologist, Koch, in 1882, pub- 

 lished his preliminary article in which he proved that that 

 dread disease, consumption, was caused by such a micro- 

 organism! Discovery followed discovery, and in the space 

 of but a few years the germs which cause cholera, hydro- 

 phobia, lockjaw, leprosy, malaria, typhoid, and other fevers 

 were discovered. With this' discovery it was possible to 

 make experiments with a view of preventing these diseases. 

 It was possible to work out the life-history of the germ 

 under what conditions it would grow best ; under what con- 

 ditions it would be retarded in its growth; what agency 

 would suffice to destroy it ; in what manner it could be car- 

 ried from place to place ; through what avenues it reached 

 the body. This explained at once how garbage and filth 

 of any kind were a prolific source of disease. This explained 

 general epidemics, but it also suggested efficient ways of 

 protection. The sterilizing action of heat was clear, and 

 the use of antiseptics was susceptible of everybody's 

 understanding. To show what a clear insight it gave into 

 diseases previously not at all understood, common malarial 

 fever may be taken as an illustration. 



No one could explain why a patient should every third 

 or fourth day be seized with a fever paroxysm and be com- 

 paratively free from the disease during the intervening pe- 

 riod. No hint was obtainable anywhere. What was its 

 immediate cause? Bacteriology has revealed that this com- 

 mon ailment is due to a tiny organism (sporozoa) which 

 lives as a parasite in the red corpuscle of human blood. 

 Introduced into the blood from various poorly drained areas 

 containing much decayed organic matter, it finally finds 



