538 
Book  Reviews. 
("Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
(  Xoveinber,  1910. 
We  have  a  good  deal  of  data  on  the  pathological  findings  of  the 
disease,  but  there  are  many  points  concerning  its  essential  pathology 
that  require  elucidation.  We  know  that  rabies  is  caused  by  a  living 
micro-organism  which  invades  the  nervous  system  and  can  be  thrown 
off  in  the  saliva.   The  exact  nature  of  this  organism  is  still  unknown. 
"  The  treatment  of  developed  rabies  by  means  of  drugs,  while 
it  has  received  considerable  attention  in  the  past,  perhaps  because 
of  the  discouraging  outcome  of  the  earlier  attempts  at  treatment, 
has  received  but  little  attention  in  recent  years.  In  view  of  the  facts 
that  the  balance  of  evidence  leans  toward  the  protozoan  nature  of 
rabies,  and  that  certain  protozoan  infections  are  amenable  to  cure  by 
specific  drugs,  it  is  our  opinion  that  research  in  this  direction  should 
not  be  abandoned.  The  most  promising  line  of  investigation  in  this 
connection  would  appear  to  be  based  not  upon  the  physiological 
action  of  the  drug,  but  upon  its  action  upon  the  parasite.  Here  we 
are  limited  at  once  by  our  lack  of  knowledge. 
"  Attempts  to  improve  upon  the  methods  of  immunization  of 
exposed  persons  are  desirable,  in  order  to  eliminate  the  small  per- 
centage of  failures  and  the  very  much  smaller  proportion  of  injurious 
results.  In  making  such  attempts,  however,  we  must  not  jeopardize 
human  life  by  the  use  of  methods  which  are  without  experimental 
basis. 
"  Finally,  as  regards  the  eradication  of  rabies,  we  have  now  and 
have  had  for  a  long  time  all  the  knowledge  of  rabies  necessary  to 
effect  its  entire  suppression.  This  knowledge  can  be  summed  up  in 
a  single  sentence,  to  wit :  Rabies  is  perpetuated  in  the  dog  through 
the  infliction  of  bites  by  a  rabid  dog  and  does  not  arise  spontaneously. 
If  all  rabid  dogs  could  be  prevented  from  biting  other  animals,  rabies 
would  in  the  course  of  a  year  be  a  mere  historical  curiosity  of  medi- 
cine, an  illegitimate  field  of  research  for  the  investigator  in  pure 
pathology,  a  plaything  for  the  controversialist." 
BOOK  REVIEWS. 
Arbeitex  aus  dem  Pharmazeutischen  Institut  der  Uni- 
versitat  Berlin.  Herausgegeben  von  Dr.  H.  Thorns,  Professor 
und  Direktor  des  Pharmazeutischen  Institutes  der  Universitat  Berlin. 
Siebenter  Band.  Umfassend  die  Arbeiten  des  Jahres,  1909.  Mit  6 
Textabbildungen  und  7  Tafeln.  Berlin,  Urban  &  Schwarzenberg. 
1910.    Paper  7  Marks.    Cloth  8.50  Marks. 
