340 THE PRESERVATION OF HEALTH 



there is reason to believe that it also is destined to be 

 overcome by the progress of scientific discovery, together 

 with a wider diffusion of sanitary knowledge. An anti- 

 toxin for consumption, called tuberculin, has been found by 

 cultivating the germ obtained from the mucus raised by 

 consumptive patients, in a substance found to favor its 

 development. This new remedy is yet so recent, and the 

 number of experiments made so few, that nothing positive 

 can be stated as to its value. But there is good reason to 

 hope that a trustworthy cure for tuberculosis will in time 

 be in common use. 



490. Antiseptic Surgery is another result of the study of 

 the new science of bacteriology. (Antiseptic is derived 

 from two Greek words meaning "opposed to putrefac- 

 tion.") The great danger connected with wounds and 

 injuries has been found to be due to the opportunity 

 which they give for harmful germs and spores to enter 

 the system. This is .now guarded against by the practice 

 called sterilizing, applied to all instruments and appli- 

 ances used by the surgeon, and so far as possible to the 

 operating room itself. The object is the destruction of 

 all germs. The instruments used are previously boiled 

 for a sufficient time to kill all known forms of life. 

 Towels, operating gowns, all cloths, dressings, and other 

 things used are sterilized by heat or antiseptic chemicals, 

 and every possible precaution is taken to prevent the 

 access of any bacteria to the exposed surfaces. As a 

 consequence, the severest wounds often heal in a few 

 days, and the most astonishing operations are performed 

 with comparatively slight risk. - 



491. How to avert Danger from Poisonous Germs. To a 

 person in perfect health it is probable that bacteria of all 

 sorts are harmless. The healthy stomach seems able to 



