Oct. 4, 1877] 



NATURE 



acids producing salts which were not only themselves 

 poisonous but which reproduced poisonous secretion. In 

 the lecture delivered in this place in 1867 specimens of 

 these salts and of the substance from which they were 

 derived were placed on the table. 



To the poisonous substance, that is to say, to the base of 

 the poisonous matter of the communicable diseases, I gave 

 originally the name of scptinc, and I classified all diseases 

 that are induced by such substance, scptinous diseases. 

 Before this period the diseases had been named zymotic, 

 under the idea that they were connected with a process of 

 zymosis or fermentation. They are still commonly known 

 by that name. Since the name I suggested was given to 

 them, they have been called septic diseases, and the term 

 septicxmia has been brought into use in relation to them. 

 I am of opinion, with all respect, that the word septine, 

 as applied to the basic poisoiious matter, and the term 

 septinous, as applied to the phenomena, are the two 

 simplest and best terms we can employ. 



As the inquiries which led up to the experiments with 

 septine progressed, I was led to form a view as to the 

 nature of the poisonous base and as to its mode of origin. 

 As I have already said it seemed to me to be an alkaloid, or 

 chemical substance resembling in physical properties mor- 

 phine, strychnine, and other bodies of that class, but de- 

 rived, not like them from vegetable, but from animal organic 

 matter. The difficulty in proving this lay in finding a 

 reason for the various effects of the septinous material. 

 If it were a common base like that which I suspected I 

 had found, why should it not always produce the same 

 form of septinous disease .' Why should it, on the other 

 hand, produce, as we know it does, many kinds of disease, 

 each having a certain general likeness to the others, but 

 each at the same time different in many important details, 

 as different, for example, as small-pox is from scarlet 

 fever, or measles from hydrophobia .'' 



The difficulty in this way suggested led me to reflect 

 on the connection which might exist between the bases 

 of the different secretions of the animal body and the 

 matter of septine. Each secretion yields some organic 

 product ; the gastric secretion pepsine, the salivary secre- 

 tion ptyaline, and so on, andeach secretion plays a different 

 part in function although the organic bases of them all 

 may present a general similitude of construction. 



Thereupon I was led to the conception that the secre- 

 tions of the animal body are in fact the sources of the 

 septinous diseases, and that the various septinous diseases 

 are, in fact, all of glandular origin ; that in every case of 

 disease the poison producing it is nothing more and 

 nothing less than a modified form of one or other 

 secretion. 



In the lecture of 1S67 delivered here a sketch was sup- 

 plied of the number of diseases which affect the human 

 family. They were stated to be about two hundred and 

 fourteen in number, that is to say, when we classify the 

 symptoms together so as to make them into great groups 

 to which we can give specific names, we may reckon up 

 two hundred and fourteen such groups of diseases. 

 Amongst these groups I described one group as depend- 

 ing for its cause on the action of organic poisons. 



The diseases produced by the organic poisons were 

 classed as follows : — 



Small Pox. 



Measles. 



Scarlet Fever. 



Diphtheria. 



Typhus Fever. 



Typhoid Fever. 



Erysipelas. 



Hospital Fever. 



Puerperal Fever (or the fever 



On the nature of the organic poisons which produce 

 the diseases I urged the following points : — 



which occurs to women in 



child-bed). 

 Cholera. 

 Yellow Fever. 

 Ague. 

 Glanders. 



Boil and Carbuncle. 

 Infectious Ophthalmia. 



(«) That in every case the poisons are in themselves 

 specific. Each poison has a specific property, always 

 bringing out the same disease through countless ages. 

 From the time when man was first attacked by them, on 

 to the present time, I have no doubt that each of the 

 communicable diseases has been developed from, and has 

 depended upon one specific poison. 



[b) That the organic poisons are inodorous, have no 

 smell whatever, and that no communicable disease ever 

 depends upon the mere gases of decomposition of organic 

 matter. 



(<--) That as regards the organic poisons themselves and 

 their physical properties the great type of them all is 

 represented by the poison of any venomous snake. If we 

 puncture the poison bag, there exudes from it a fluid 

 substance that contains the poison. If we gently dry 

 that down, it becomes a darkish, somewhat powdery, half- 

 glistening mass. It is the type of all the poisons which 

 produce disease. 



((/) That the special poisons are separable, and that 

 I had separated one of them, namely, the poison of 

 hospital fever. This is a secretion formed in the wound 

 of a person suffering from surgical injury, and as it 

 could be obtained in large quantities, it had been specially 

 selected for the purpose of experiment. The poison, when 

 obtained in large quantities, could bo evaporated to the 

 form of an extract or syrup, and produced, when dried, 

 a substance resembling closely the snake poison. It 

 admitted of being pulverised, and when introduced into 

 the wound of a healthy animal, it produced symptoms 

 similar to those of the patient from which it was taken. 



A specimen of the poison of hospital fever, so prepared 

 was shown. It was extracted from the fluid of the peri- 

 toneal cavity of a lady who had been operated upon for 

 ovarian disease by ]\Ir. Spencer Wells. 



ie) That ths poison thus obtained may be introduced 

 into the body in various ways ; that communicated to an 

 animal, it will give to the body of that animal the same 

 poisonous property as was possessed by the poisonous 

 substance first introduced ; the poison, that is to say, 

 could be passed on, and made to affect another animal, 

 and so through a series of subjects. 



(/) That in the course of some diseases, these poisons 

 are separated by nature in an almost pure state. This is 

 singularly the case with regard to the poison of small-pox. 

 The poison of small-pox may escape from the surface of 

 the body, in an early stage, as a very fine vapour, and in 

 that way communicate disease. It may be communicated 

 in a fluid form, as we know when we use it by inoculation. 

 In a dry state, as in the scale of a small-pox patient, it ii 

 innocuous till it comes into contact with the water or with 

 the fluids of the body ; then it becomes poisonous. 



(a' ) That the poisons will probably dry solid. In the 

 solid state they are inert, but they are capable of re- 

 absorbing water apparently after any lapse of time, and 

 of regaining their activity. 



(//) That they admit of being charged with water almost 

 to any degree ; but that as we progress in charging them 

 with water, and diluting them with water, they entirely 

 lose their active power. This accounts for a fact which 

 was observed by the famous Dr. Fordyce in the last 

 century. At that time inoculation for small-pox was the 

 rule ; and Dr. Fordyce thought, " if he diluted the poison 

 he would produce a milder form of disease." In fact, he 

 was aiming in this way to produce what J enner afterwards 

 did produce by vaccination, namely, a modified small- 

 pox. He took the poison of small-pox, mixed it with 

 water, and refined it to a considerable extent, and he 

 inoculated patients with the diluted solution. He then 

 found out the fact — that, up to a given point, dilution made 

 no difference, the poison always producing the disease ; 

 but beyond that certain point of dilution there was no 

 disease at all produced by the solution — not even a milder 

 disease. This was in accordance with my experiments. 



