i86 
H. A. SPENCER. 
bacteria in the organs, especially when they have been transported 
by emboli, give rise to multiple abscesses, and is called pyaemia, 
and when both conditions coexist it is called septicpyaemia. 
Under the head of local infections are grouped together all 
those accidents which befall wounds, suppuration, traumatic 
fever, hospital gangrene, wound diptheria and erysipelas. 
Antisepsis.—In the employment of antisepsis we use the best 
means that can be devised for destroying the bacteria that exist 
both in the wound and on the implements that shall come in 
contact with a wound, and here it is proper to state that the 
terms antiseptic and disinfectant should not be confounded. 
The latter relates to those agents which destroy pathogenic or 
putrefactive organisms and are germicides, while antiseptics 
only arrest putrefaction and fermentation, but do not necessarily 
kill the micro-organisms. A deodorizer does away with stench, 
but may not have either antiseptic or disinfectant properties. 
While bacteriologists have shown us that infection rarely 
takes place from the air, they have also demonstrated that it is 
most frequently brought about by contact, thus we are enabled 
to understand the importance of preventing the introduction of 
bacteria on instruments or the hands of the operator and 
assistants. 
The association of laboratory with operative clinical experi¬ 
ence should continue, and we cannot forget advising the 
expediency of the surgeon and bacteriologist laboring together 
in a field that promises so much for the instruction of both, 
when the results of their investigations are brought into com¬ 
parison. 
But our enthusiasm for aseptic methods should not allow us 
to loose sight of the necessity of perfect mechanical modes of 
procedure. In the matter of technique, aseptic operations call 
for no inconsiderable preparation. First, the operating table 
should be sheltered and occupy a reasonably clean room, all 
instruments should be subjected to a thorough cleansing and be 
placed in boiling sterilized water, after which they should be 
distributed in convenient trays or shallow pans which should 
