Vol. XXV. No. 1.] 
POPULAE SCIENCE l^EWS. 
13 
flPedieiRe ar^d (^l^apmactj. 
HEALTH AND DISEASE. 
The natural condition of living beings is one of 
healtli. A normal life history would be one of 
:;radual development from birth to maturity, the 
luntinuance of maturity or adult life, with the 
IK ifect and uninterrupted actions of all the bodily 
functions, for a certain length of time, and at the 
last a gradual failing of/ strength until the vital 
ppark goes out, like the flame of a lamp exhausted 
of oil, quietly, painlessly and almost impercep- 
tibly. 
It is safe to say, however, that not one person 
in a million can pass through life in this natural 
and Ideal manner, llie more highly developed 
llie organism and the more complicated the vital 
processes, the greater tlie liability to abnormal 
conditions of their action. The lowest forms of 
life are, apparently, not subject to disease, but, as 
we ascend higher In the scale, the number and 
variety of diseases, as well as the susceptibility to 
their attack, constantly increases, until, in man. 
with his highly difterentiated and specialized 
organism, his immensely developed mental facul- 
ties, and the more or less unnatural conditions of 
his civilized mode of life, every separate organ 
seems to be on the point of breaking down either 
by the degeneration of its organic structure or by 
the abnormal performance of its functions. This 
we call disease, and those who have not expe- 
rienced it in a greater or less degree are exceed- 
ingly few in number. 
Man. above all other animals living, is out of 
Aarmony with his environment. The course of 
Wb development from lower forms of life, seems 
m> have taken place with so great rapidity that the 
bodily organs have not had time to adjust them- 
eelves to the changed conditions of his existence. 
^, nie extraordinary and disproportional develoj)- 
Jjnerit of his mental faculties has led him to adopt 
inhabits of life which his anatomical structure and 
jPhysiological functions are not adapted to sustain, 
t^very gynaecologist and obstetrician can testify 
phat the abdominal organs are not even yet fully 
^adjusted to the upright position of the body, and 
t4he structure of the circulatory system shows 
■"■ihat, from the standpoint of the evolutionist, it is 
3«t a comparatively recent date that our progen- 
itors abandoned the horizontal for the vertical 
-position while walking or standing. If it were 
.'not for this superior mental development, which 
forces the bodily organs and members to perform 
^functions to which they are not fully adapted, 
man, or the more highly civilized races at least, 
could not exist upon the earth, and as it is, the 
Itendency seems to be for the older families— that 
M, those of the highest mental development— to 
die out and leave their places to be filled by those 
who, with perhaps a less highly organized l)rain, 
possess lower bodily organs better adapted to the 
conditions of existence and the maintenance of 
life. 
Among savage races, diseases are supposed to 
!"• caused by an evil spirit, and when it is exor- 
ri-rd or driven out of the body the patient recov- 
11^; thus, in the beginning. of civilization, we find 
the offices of priest and physician performed l)v 
one and the same individual. That this belief is 
not entirely extinct even among people calling 
themselves enlightened, is shown by the numerous 
II ported cures at the various shrines and holy 
places in Europe, to say nothing of that popular 
and preposterous delusion, the "faith-cure" in our 
own country. Even now the popular idea of the 
action of "medicine" is that it drives out, or in 
some way neutralizes, the disease which is causing 
the patient discomfort or danger. Even the latest 
discoveries in regard to the microbic origin of 
certain diseases do not go to the root of the 
matter, and the truly scientific physician recog- 
nizes that health and disease are but incidental 
conditions and phenomena of life. The great 
mystery of vitality will probably never be solved, 
but we know that disease is merel)' an abnormal 
action of the. bodily functions, and that the natu- 
ral tendency of the vital force is to restore them 
to the usual conditions. We have also found, by 
empirical observation, that certain substances, 
when introduced into thesystem, produce certain 
alterations in the action of these functions, and 
aid Nature in eft'ecting a cure, and on these accu- 
mulated facts the whole science of therapeutics 
rests. Health is the nonnal condition of life, and 
existence depends upon the perfect equilibrium 
of all the vital processes. If this equilibrium is 
disturbed, disease ensues, and unless Nature can 
restore the balance, death is the inevitable result. 
To aid Nature in this work is the task of the 
physician, and the modern triumphs of medical 
skill bear a strong and convincing testimony to 
his success in his noble work. 
1^* 
[Original In Populak Science News.] 
A TALK .VBOUT BACTERIA. 
BY .r. HOB.\KT EGBEKT, A. B., M. 1). 
For convenience in classification we may include 
the various forms of micro-organisms which occa- 
sion putrefaction, fermentation, and certain path- 
ological changes in living tissues, under tlie general 
term Bacteria. Putrefaction and fermentation are 
arbitrary terms representing similar changes, the 
former tteing applied to that occurring in proteids ; 
the latter, in carbohydrates. In either case a 
chemical change is wrought, througli the presence 
of the bacteria, which reduces the proteid or car- 
l)ohydrate to simpler forms. 
Bacteria are not in.sects or "bugs," but plants; 
they have, however, the power of spontaneous 
motion. Like other living things, they take in 
matter and potential energy, and give ofl" matter 
and manifest energy. In common with all vegeta- 
bles not possessing chlorophyll, they require 
organic food for the maintenance of life ; but they 
can sul>sist upon food that contains no proteid— 
being able to take nitrogen and sulphur from inor- 
ganic sources, and witli carbon from organic 
sources and with water, tliey build up proteid 
material. They share respiration in common w ith 
all living things, taking in oxygen and giving off 
carbon di-oxide. Certain l)acteria, however, do 
not require free oxygen, being al)le to unlock it 
from the substances in which they exist : and cer- 
tain chemical processes attributable to them evi- 
dently depend upon this power of unlocking 
oxygen from stable compounds. 
Bacteria are very widely distributed, being 
present in the atmosphere in vast numbers, and 
also exi.sting in earth and water, 'niey cover the 
surface of our bodies and line our entire alhnen- 
tary canals ; fortunately, however, they are chiefly 
of the benign variety, wliich will not thrive in 
living tissues— hence called non-pathogenic. 
'I'hese micro-organisms are among the smallest 
objects wliich the microscojie reveals. A very 
conunon form of bacteria is that known as the 
bacterium termo, which is an elongated rod-like 
cell about l--2.'),00n of an inch in breadth, and less 
than twice its breadth in length. It is non-patho- 
genic, easily killed by antiseptics, and is always 
found in putrefying or septic fluids; hence it is 
sometimes called the carrion or septic fungus. 
The living bacterium may be described as a sim- 
ple "cell." Like other cells it is composed chiefly 
of protoplasm, and has a distinct cell-wall but no 
apparent nucleus. The protoplasm is of its usual 
composition, and may or may not contain vac- 
uoles ; the cell-wall is composed of cellulose. 
From the forms presented, bacteria have been 
divided into three general groups. First, we have 
the Sphero-bacteria or Micro-cocci (coccus — "a 
berry " ) , which are simply rounded or oval bodies, 
from 1-10,000 to 1-25,000 of an inch in diameter. 
The non-pathogenic micro-cocci produce putrefac- 
tion, while among the pathogenic species may be 
mentioned those found in acute abscesses, boils, 
erysipelas, gonorrhoea, acute necrosis, osteo- 
myelitis, septicaemia, and pyemia. Secondly, the 
Bacilli ("little rods") are, as the name implies, 
rod-like bodies of more than twice their breadth iu 
length. Tliey may be straight, or bent, or curved 
in one direction. A bacillus with a single curve 
is spoken of as a "comma bacillus." There are 
many pathogenic bacilli; those of surgical inter- 
est are the anthrax bacillus, the bacillus tubercu- 
losis, the bacillus of glanders, of leprosy, of 
syphilis, and of tetanus. The third variety are 
known as Spiro-bacteria, and consist of rods bent 
or curved in more than one direction, representing 
spirals and the like. The outer surface of the cell- 
wall of the bacteria is indistinct and ill-defined, 
being usually surrounded by a jelly-like substance, 
known as zoogloea. By this they are often united 
in masses or chains. 
Bacteria have a passive or vibratory movement, 
—the so-called " Brownian movement,"— but since 
this is exhibited by both living and dead bacteria, 
it is not indicative of vital energy. I'hey also 
exhibit vital or active movements, — not amwboid, 
however,— by which they rapidly change from 
place to place. 'Iliey may revolve on their long 
axis, or revolve, one end being fixed, or the center 
may be fixed with revolution of both ends— the 
"hour-glass " movement. Ofttimes hair-like pro- 
cesses or appendages called cilia are to be observed. 
There may be l)ut one cilium attached to either 
end or to one end ; or two or more cilia at one end. 
Whether these cilia are projections of the cell-wall 
or elongations of the protoplasm is not definitely 
known, but since by their movements the organ- 
isms possessing them are moved along, it is rea- 
sonable to suppose that they are composed of 
protoplasm. 
Reproduction of bacteria occurs by fissure, by 
spores, and by budding. Multiplication by fissure 
takes place very rapidly ; one may become two in 
half an hour or even less time, and these two pro- 
ceed at once to divide into two new cells, and so 
on. The process is sometimes spoken of as 
"vegetation of bacteria." The spores of bacteria 
are capable of withstanding higher and lower 
temperatures than those of the higher vegetables. 
Possessing this power of endurance beyond 
that possessed by the ordinary bacteria, the 
latter, when placed in circumstances unfavorable 
to their existence, turn to spores more rapidly 
than usual, and thus outlive the circumstances 
then existing until they are placed under more 
favorable conditions, when a new bacterium is 
formed from each spore. The same property is 
illustrated in the seeds of higher plants, which 
retain their vital power through conditions which 
would positively destroy the plant. 
Destruction of Bacteria. —Coid (32° F.) suspends 
their animation, but does not kill them— many 
withstand a much lower temperature. Boiling 
water kills many bacteria, but those that are 
in the condition of spores can withstand a much 
higher temperature, or can withstand the temper- 
