February, 1912.] Annual Address. liii 
the importance of the work done by one of the medical members 
of the Society ? We all hope that in-the near future the results 
Major Rogers and those who follow in his footsteps obtain in 
this terrible disease will be even more striking. 
e last tropical disease which I shall speak about is dys- 
entery—an important group of diseases hitherto compri 
under one name, but probably differing widely in their causa- 
tion and in their pathology. Much work is going on in various 
parts of the world including India, and there are least two 
totally different pathological conditions found in India, each of 
by group of bacilli belonging to the same great class as typhoi 
fever and probably other bowel diseases—bacillary dysentery : 
this form does not give rise to liver abscess; (ii) due to a 
protozoal organism belonging to the amoebae several of which 
are pathogenic. Both forms are very common in India, but the 
important distinction is that the amoebic variety only is the 
one which is responsible for that very fatal tropical condition 
known as liver abscess. 
This discovery hascleared up the long-standing controversy 
as to how far tropical liver abscess was dependent on dysentery. 
Both the liver complication and the dysentery are amenable 
to treatment with Ipecacuanha The work done in Calcutta 
during the last decade by Major Rogers and others has shown 
that these liver abscesses always contain living amoebz of dysen- 
try in their walls, but are otherwise free from all kinds of bac- 
teria such as cause abscesses and boils. This has led to the suc- 
amoebae. 
Major Rogers has also successfully revived the older proce- 
dure (in vogue in India sixty-seventy years ago) of giving large 
doses of Ipecacuanha in threatened liver abscesses. A carefu 
examination of the patient’s blood by the microscope shows 
been brought about in the British Army. I can only mention 
the successful treatment of the bacillary form of dysentery by 
effective sera and vaccines—Forster’s and other sera used 
successfully by Captain Gillet at Buxar. : 
repeat that the work is great and the labourers are se 
and some fall by the way; but the harvest when it ripens nee 
be great. There is every reason for the belief that the Class 
rooms and Research laboratories of the School of Tropical 
Medicine (which we hope will be established in Calcutta a 
many years are past) will attract a large number of devoted, 
