St. Landry democrat., 1885-02-28
MICROSCOPY.
The Use of the Microscope in Determining
Disease.

The Use OF the Microscope In Determining
Disease.
The reporter shook his head sorrow
fully. He couldn't see it. "Look
again" said DR.. Henry Jameson, and
again the reporter glued his eyo 70 the
microscope, but with little better sue
cess than before. 1.-THE eye," said
the doctor, has to be educated to the
instrument, and it requires long and
careful training to make that organ
trustworthy in matters microscopic. :"
Chow long," inquired the reporter,
''has the microscope been in favor in
Indianapolis among medical men as a
help in their practice?"
'About a dozen years, ~ replied the
doctor. cit is now chiefly used in de-
termining diseases affecting the kid
neys. The practitioner examines sedi-
ment in the urine, and he can tell by
the microscope, to a certainty, if he I'M
derstands how to use it, whether there
is any structural or organic disease of
the kidneys. There are great many
diseases in which the kidneys may be
more or less involved. There are other
diseases than Bright's. In many cases
examination by the microscope will
exclude organic disease and show the
ailment to be sympathetic. Asa sequel
of scarlatina, we have what is known
as acute nephritis-an Inflammation of
the kidneys-and the microscope will
determine this disease in its incipiency
before one could positively determine it
by any other means, so that the careful
practitioner will be able to begin to
treat the disease in time, to avert dam
gerous consequences. The microscope
will not only enable the physician tosde-
termine the existence of disease, but
the extent and duration&San furnish
the prognosis. 1t may be profitably
employed to determine q variety of skin
diseases that depend upon spores and
parasites. Scabies is one of them;
tenia fayosa, a parasitic growth on the
head, producing scaly eruption. is
another. There are several more. In
diseases of the lung, tubercular trouble
and incipient phthisis, an examination
of the sputa frequently shows broken
down lung tissue even before the patient
suspects he is out OF health.
''There is a large list of malignant
growths, the character of which can
best be definitely ascertained by the
microscope. Among these are car
cinoma (cancer) and epithelioma
(epithelial cancer.) The Instrument
has frequently been called upon in this
country in legal way to investigate
blood-spots, and determine whether
they are of human or animal origin;
also, in poisons, to examine their
crystals. 1t is, also, frequently used to
examine the condition of the blood as to
the proportion of red and white cor
puscIes, and to discover the degree OF
disintegration.
microscopy is evidently just on the
eve of a great discovery. A broad field
is opening up in the study of the various
kinds of 'baccilli' which are present in,
If not causatiVe of, certain diseases,
there being the cholera bacillus, the
yellow fever bacillus, etc. The prob
abilities are that the day is near at
hand that we will not only be enabled
to discover the bacillus in numerous
diseases, but, having discovered it, to
effectually destroy it. The fallacies at
tending the use of the microscope are
the same as those attending any kind of
chemical or minute Investigation.
There are to be taken into account the
inaccuracy and lack of education of the
Observers eye and ineficiency and
optical defects in the instrument. A
person without thoroughly educated
eye may, for instance, mistake a bit of
fbrous material which may have been
in the collecting vessel, for tube cast
This source of error can only be elm
mated by thorough education of the
eye, rendering it 50 familiar with the
different pathological elements. and
structures as to make it impossible,
humanely speaking, to err. Another
thing. It doesn't require expensive ap-
paratus to pursue these Investigations.
AS good work may be done by a true
microscopic with an instrument which,
with its furnishings, costs $3.50, as with
one in less expert hands that cost
So, Indianapolis Journal.