168 HETEROGENETIC ORIGIN OF 



motionless, and others exhibit mere to-and-fro movements of a 

 non-progressive character. The blood, again, has ceased to 

 circulate, so that this fluid, germless during life, cannot, after 

 death, be considered to act as a carrier. But if the organisms 

 themselves cannot make their way through the tissues and travel 

 far within brief periods, and if no carrier exists, they must have 

 been born in or near many of the sites in which, after death, 

 they are speedily to be found. 



Speaking of the experiments made by himself Burdon Sanderson 

 wrote as follows ' : " Under the conditions I have described to 

 you, it seems to me quite impossible to suppose either that germs 

 could penetrate to the organ from the outside, or that any germ 

 encountered by the organ in its transference from the body of 

 the animal to the basin could escape destruction. If, therefore. 

 Bacteria be found, they or their germs must have been there 

 before the organ was plunged into the hot liquid. . . . The results 

 of all the experiments whether with liver or kidneys was the same. 

 The soft red kernel of uncooked tissue at the middle of the organ 

 always contained Bacteria, the vigorous development of which was 

 indicated by their large size, countless numbers, and active move- 

 ments. To my mind the experiment is conclusive." 



In reference to this, it is right to say that similar results have 

 been obtained by other investigators using either similar methods, 

 or methods equally trustworthy. Such experiments have been 

 made by Tiegel, Billroth, Nencki and Giacosa, Horsley and 

 Mott, as well as by myself. 



As I have previously intimated, the finding of organisms under 

 these conditions is a fact so important, in view of the theories 

 of Pasteur and Lister, and the general belief as to the germicidal 

 quahties of the blood, that the results require to be most cai-efuUy 

 scrutinised. 



To postulate the presence of " latent germs " in these abdominal 

 organs and to assign as a reason the close " proximity to absorbing 

 mucous membranes," and nothing else, surely cannot be regarded 

 as a full and satisfactory explanation. It assumes, without proof 

 of any kind, that microorganisms, even in healthy animals, are 

 constantly making their way out through the walls of the intestine, 

 and wandering promiscuously into this or that organ, only in the 

 end to lapse into a condition of " latent vitality." Could anything 

 in the way of explanation be more gratuitous and unsatisfactory ? 

 ' "British Medical Journal," 1878, vol. i., p. 119. 



