20 
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 6, 1906. 
VIVISECTION. 
Experiments on Animals. By Stephen Paget. Third 
and revised edition. Pp. xii+387. (London: J. 
Nisbet and Co., Ltd., 1906.) 
Baie new edition of Mr. Paget’s well-known book 
appears in time for the inquiry now being made 
by a Royal Commission on the subject of vivisection. 
It is now exactly thirty years since the first Royal 
Commission on the subject of experiments on animals 
made its report. A glance at this report is, to us 
of this generation, a revelation of the enormous pro- 
gress that has been made in medical sciences during 
the last thirty years. In the report the attention of 
the commissioners. as well as of the witnesses, was 
almost entirely taken up with the question of physio- 
logical experimentation. The leading men of the 
medical profession testified to the dependence of ad- 
vance in medicine on advances in our knowledge of 
the workings of the body in a state of health, a pro- 
position which must seem to every scientific man 
self-evident. For the conversion to this view of the 
ordinary man, who does not think scientifically, the 
examples adduced by these witnesses must seem to 
us at the present time very scanty. Again and again 
we have brought up in evidence the discovery of the 
circulation of the blood by Harvey and of the functions 
of the anterior and posterior roots by Bell 
Majendie, and certain experiments on the growth of 
bone and on the absorption of ligatures in regard 
to their surgical application. 
Although the experiments of Villemin and Chauveau 
on tubercle are mentioned, the tubercle bacillus was 
as yet undiscovered. Lister had already, for nearly 
twenty years, been endeavouring to discover the best 
method of prevention of wound infection, and had 
introduced antiseptics into surgery; but the anti- 
septic method had not yet been generally accepted. 
Pasteur was still carrying out his researches on the 
nature of wound infection, but in 1878, three years 
after the Commission was appointed, his views had 
not yet received general acceptance. Mr. Paget gives 
a graphic description of a memorable discussion which 
occurred in this year at the French Academy of Medi- 
cine on the subject of puerperal fever. In the middle 
of a long discourse by a doctor on the causes of 
this mysterious visitation, Pasteur interrupted with 
the statement that the epidemic was due entirely to 
microbes conveyed by the doctor and his assistants, 
and jumping up and going to the blackboard he drew 
the streptococcus on it, saying, ‘‘ Tenez, voici sa 
figure.’’ Bacteriology, in fact, was just being born, 
and few in this country had recognised the marvel- 
lous part it was to play in modifying the relations 
of man to his environment. 
From the development of bacteriology during these 
few years has grown the antiseptic and aseptic treat- 
ment of wounds, which is responsible for the saving 
annually of hundreds of thousands of lives, and for the 
practical abolition of pain from the surgical wards. 
NO. 1936, VOL. 75 | 
and |} 
The discovery of the tubercle bacillus by Koch has 
enabled us to deal successfully with numerous cases 
of tuberculosis in its manifold forms; ‘‘ we have no 
longer to reckon with a nameless something, but with 
a definite parasite whose conditions of life are for 
the most part already known, and can be further 
studied.’’ In this way we are in a position, in many 
cases, to shut off the sources of infection, and so to 
attain the prevention of this most fatal of all dis- 
orders. ; 
Since this time one disorder after another has been 
studied, and has given up its secrets to the bacteriolo- 
gists. The diphtheria bacillus was discovered in 1875, 
and isolated by Loeffler in 1884. In 1890, Behring 
and Kitasato discovered the antitoxin which is used 
throughout the whole civilised world, and has re- 
duced the case mortality by one half. 
The tetanus bacillus was discovered in 1880, and 
the tetanus antitoxin, by means of which we can 
protect against the disease though rarely succeed in 
its cure, in 1894. The horrible disease of hydro- 
phobia was brought under our control by Pasteur in 
1885. The cholera bacillus was discovered by Koch 
in 1883, and the method of preventive inoculation 
against this disease by Haffkine in 1893. 
The plague bacillus was discovered in 1894. Since 
this time, knowing the cause of the disease, it has 
been possible to track out its whole natural history, 
and the report of the last Commission on the subject 
has placed in the hands of the sanitary officials all 
the facts which are necessary for successfully coping 
with the disease. 
The typhoid bacillus was discovered in 1881. An 
emulsion of this bacillus is now constantly used in 
Widal’s reaction, to diagnose typhoid and to dis- 
tinguish it from other cases of continued fever. Suc- 
cessful inoculations against the disease have been 
carried out by Wright. 
The discovery of the bacillus of Malta fever, or 
Mediterranean fever, by Bruce, has enabled medical 
men to determine the sources of infection of this 
disorder, and the resulting measures have this year 
caused a diminution of the cases from 258 in July, 
August, and September, 1905, to fifteen during the 
corresponding months of this year., 
The microorganisms of malaria and of yellow 
fever have been discovered, and their life-histories. 
worked out. The part played by mosquitoes and 
gnats in the propagation of these diseases once 
having been recognised, it has been possible to wage a 
successful war against both these disorders. Where 
preventive measures have been thoroughly carried 
out, these diseases, which previously decimated the 
population, have been practically stamped out. I may 
mention here simply the case of Ismailia (malaria), 
Havana (yellow fever), and the Panama Canal (yellow 
fever). All these results, involving probably the 
saving of hundreds of thousands of lives yearly, have 
been accomplished by a science which has hardly 
attained its majority, and which is the direct outcome 
of the application of the scientific method for which 
a strong testimony was borne before the Royal Com- 
mission of 1875. 
G 
