91 The Use of Colloids m Disease. 



colloids. Although the first remedial germicidal colloidal metals 

 were first prepared in 1910, the rapidity with which they and 

 other colloidal sols have been adopted, and their extensive use in 

 military, naval, and private medicine practice is a certain indicator 

 of their value and of the promptitude with which the medical 

 profession makes use of new remedies when once their value has 

 been clearly established. Attempts to produce similar prepara- 

 tion were made by several German chemists, but most of the 

 foreign preparations lack stability and are decomposed before 

 reaching the seat of disease they are designed to cure. Some 

 British colloidal sols, on the contrary, are quite stable and 

 effective. It is, however, of the utmost importance that medical 

 men should either examine the colloidal preparations for them- 

 selves or send them to some competent and wholly independent 

 person. Various simple, yet effective, tests were demonstrated 

 in the lecture. 



The success which has attended investigations on the use 

 of colloids as remedial agents is so great as to call for the 

 sympathetic interest of all who can appreciate what has been 

 accomplished, and aftbrds abasis of hope that further developments 

 will be still more beneficial to suffering humanity. It is probable 

 that serum and vaccine therapy will ultimately be resolved into 

 questions of colloidal chemistry, but in the meawtime the use of 

 colloidal solutions of certain elements appears to offer a means 

 whereby they can be accurately prepared and administered with a 

 higher degree of efficiency than is possible with some of the more 

 complex synthetic compounds at present in use. 



At the conclusion of the lecture, the Chairman moved a 

 vote of thanks to Mr Searle for his interesting address and 

 demonstration and this was cordially passed with acclamation. 



