INFECTIOUS DISEASES AND MICROBES, ETC. 253 



ously, small doses l of diluted (with water) tuber- 

 culin into the back of patients (Fig. 49) suffering 

 from certain forms of tuberculosis; and as the 

 treatment progresses the doses are slowly increased 

 'as long as there may be bacilli in the body.' 

 Koch's ' lymph ' does not kill the tubercle bacilli, 

 but destroys the tuberculous tissues, and thereby 

 starves the bacilli contained in such tissues. It 

 also sets up a localised reaction in the vicinity of 

 the bacilli, by means of which the cells are so 

 strengthened that they are able to prevent the 

 extension of the bacilli into the surrounding parts ; 

 in fact there is a battle between the cells and the 

 bacilli, and if the former are strengthened, it is 

 possible for them to destroy the latter ; and this is 

 what Koch's ' lymph ' is believed to do. 



As to the value of Koch's treatment, there is no 

 decided opinion among those best capable of judg- 

 ing ; for some authorities are against, while others 

 are in favour of, the ' lymph ' as a diagnostic and 

 curative agent. Professor K. Virchow 2 (the greatest 

 living pathologist) ' has found, in a number of cases 

 that have come under his observations,' a compar- 

 ative small number when the enormous number 

 that have been injected is taken into consideration, 

 ' that the characteristic degeneration of the tissues of 

 the young tubercle is not always brought about, 

 that the localisation of the disease is not by any 

 means perfect, that there is a tendency of tubercu- 

 lous material that should be thrown off to continue 



1 0-0005 to o-oi cc. 



2 Berliner Klinische Wochenschrifl, Jan. 21, 1891, p. 49. 



