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PIERRE A. FISH. 
is only the exception that aseptic conditions are realized. The 
operating rooms and attendants are not, as a rule, comparable 
to those utilized in human surgery, nor is the patient as easily 
managed or taken care of. 
Theories .—Comprehensive as is our knowledge, to day, of 
bacteriology, there are still some points pertaining to the struc¬ 
ture of the bacteria themselves and their action upon living tis¬ 
sues, concerning which further knowledge would be of very 
material assistance in attacking these micro-organisms from an 
antiseptic standpoint. 
We may conceive of an ideal antiseptic as an agent which 
has the property of inhibiting or destroying bacteria without 
injury to the somatic tissues. The direct question may, with 
justice, be asked at the present time. Do antiseptics bring 
about their beneficial effects by direct action upon the micro¬ 
organisms or do they act upon the body tissues, with which 
they come in contact, in such a way that these organisms can 
no longer obtain their needful supply of nutriment from the 
transformed tissues ? 
We have evidence that the protoplasmic body of, at least, 
some of the bacteria is protected by an outer coating of cel¬ 
lulose, a substance which is acted upon, practically not at all, 
except by some of the strongest reagents. There is evidence, 
also, that certain of these organisms have the power of secreting 
from their bodies, material in the form of toxins, which act de- 
leteriously upon the surrounding tissues ; but which, during the 
period of secretion, it would seem, must serve for the protection 
of the micro-organism. 
Again the question of osmosis may be a factor. Do certain 
reagents have the power of establishing an unequal density in 
the medium around and within the body of the micro-organism, 
so that enough moisture may be withdrawn from it to render it 
inert; or may the reverse be true, that a surfeit of moisture is 
taken into the body of the bacterium ? These would seem to 
be among the fundamental problems concerned in a study of 
antisepsis. .v ;•/ . . y. - V 
