A  January  fwo2rm'}    Re  cent  Literature  Relating  to  Pharmacy.  43 
four  animals  having  been  used  in  this  investigation.  Some  of  the 
conclusions  arrived  at  by  the  Commission  might  be  summed  up  as 
follows : 
That  the  disease  was  tetanus  was  proven  without  a  doubt  by 
clinical  observation  on  nine  patients,  there  being  in  no  case  any 
wounds  or  injured  epithelial  surface  on  the  body  except  those 
caused  by  the  entrance  of  the  injecting  needle,  and  these  places 
were  without  inflammatory  reaction.  To  prove  the  diagnoses  a 
number  of  autopsies  were  made  immediately  after  death  and  the 
diseased  portions  studied  carefully  both  macroscopically  and  micro- 
scopically. 
That  the  toxic  serum  of  August  24th  contained  no  Bacillus  tetanz 
or  its  spores. 
That  the  toxic  serum  of  August  24th  and  serum  of  September 
30th  contained  the  toxin  of  Bacillus  tetani  previously  formed  in  the 
horse  from  which  it  was  prepared.  The  animal  from  which  this 
serum  of  September  30th  was  obtained  was  shot  on  October  3d 
because  it  had  tetanus. 
That  the  toxic  serum  of  August  24th  and  that  of  September  30th 
were  identical  in  nine  different  particulars,  and  that  the  non-toxic 
serum  of  August  24th  was  different  in  the  same  number  and  kind 
of  tests;  the  Commission  therefore  concludes  that  the  serum  of 
September  30th  had  been  issued  without  previous  biological  tests, 
and  that  some  of  this  same  toxic  serum  had  been  filled  into  tubes 
previously  marked  August  24th. 
That  the  blame  for  this  awful  catastrophe  can  be  laid  only  at  the 
door  of  those  who  had  charge  of  the  preparation  and  testing  of  this 
toxic  serum. 
It  will  be  seen  from  the  review  of  Dr.  Abbott's  article,  which  was 
published  some  time  before  the  Commission  was  appointed  to 
investigate  the  cause  of  this  catastrophe,  that  he  quite  accurately 
and  minutely  described  a  number  of  details  which  the  Commission 
after  a  long  investigation  found  to  be  the  facts.  From  Dr.  Abbott's 
most  able  article  and  its  subsequent  proving  we  should  draw  this 
one  lesson  as  regards  bacteriology :  that  it  is  a  science  based  upon 
strong  natural  principles  and  not  upon  some  mere  disconnected 
links  of  some  idle  fancy. 
The  members  of  the  Commission  cannot  be  too  highly  praised  for 
their  careful  and  incessant  efforts  to  elucidate  the  matter. 
