The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1893-09-17
PROGRESS INDEED.
sURGNRY .iND MEDICINE.

y
ID. OF New York. Chairman or uenil
Department, American Social Science A
N -orintion. at Saratoga. sept. q, 1903
~ A great deal Of general interest has OF la,
years been taken in medical and surgical SUI
1eots by laymen. and this is not surprisinI
\ since the advances and discoveries that hnv
been made are such as to com mi and attentio
because OF their novelty and startling char
ecter. Surgery. It is true. has always been mor
or less OF an exact science. and even In anoen
! times very serious operations we're success
fully undertaken which are nowadays oftei
eohsidered modern. Thus the Hindoos In pro
historic periods practised ovarlutomy. and no
ionR ago saw and examined an ancient Peru
Wan skull upon which during life the opera
tion OF trephlning had been performed.
The surgeon has to do with objective. tangl
BILE things and his work really differs it'll,
from that OF the cabinet maker or joiner saw,
that instead OF wood he manipulates living
4 ttssues that bleed and inhame. The same
character OF skill and handlwork is required
though tho surgeon must work more deli.
sately. be more clearly. and be more rapid in
Ma movements.
THE DISCOVERY OF ASIsTHEsrA.
Surgery having been so exact science since
It's earliest origin, its progress has not been.
perhaps. SO remarkable as that OF medicine.
though there has been epochs in its advance
undreamed OF in the remote ages OF
the past. Such. for instance. was the dis
eovery OF anesthesia within fifty years
enly. making It possible for patients to
undergo operations. the very pain OF
which might under former conditions have de-
stroyed their lives. How many hundreds OF
thousands OF human beings suffered before
this untold tortures at the hands Of the sur
geonl We scarcely realize at this day. when
ether and chloroform and laughing gas are In
roauistion for even tho most triGing proceed
ures. that so few years have elapsed since
their discovery. Now the most delicate and
difflcult OF operations may be safely and pain
lessly carried out and hours OF time taken.
whereas before this era they were impossible
Or IL undertaken. had to be performed with
swiftness too great for perfect handIwork
THE GERM THEORY OF DISEASE.
still more recent and brilliant advance
was made affecting both surgery and medi-
cine alike. when tho germ theory OF disease
wac established as a fact beyond dispute. 1t
was rather early In this century that certain
OF tho larger pa rasites Of the human body were
discovered and their life histories ascertsined.
such for instance. as the itch mite. the tr-
china. and the numerous entozoa that inhabit
the intestines OF mankind. Some OF these. 1t
was found. were derived from too close an as.
ISOLATION with dogs and from eating improper
ly cooked food. beef. pork. mutton. aud fish.
With the discovery Of the yeast plant by
Latour in 1886. and the later brilliant
demonstrations by Pasteur OF the facts
that both fermentation and putrefaction
were caused by vegetable germs. arose
the microbe theory as to the orl-
gin of many contagious and infectious dis
eases. With this to work upon. these minute.
invisible parasites We're sought for in the blood
and tissues OF patients suffering from such
maladies. Thus the science OF bacteriology
sprang into existence. and most wonderful
have been its revelations OF late years. Now
scarcely a month passes without some new
and fmmensey important fact bearing upon
contagious diseases being brought to light.
The microscopic enemies OF mankind. known
variously ss germs. parasites bacteria. bacilli.
or microbes. inhabt our whole environment.
No air SO pure that it does, not, contain
them. no water SO unpollutable. that they
do not flourish In abundance there. Cur
iliIed, with countless millions OF bacte.
aiimentary canal 1t is true that there is am an
Immense variety Of these bacteria. and that It
posons aetrinsnta Y' to health a Each con
taRious disease has it's own particular germ.
Thsss diseases are dphtneria smapox
typhqs typhoid fever. hydrophobla. tetanus.
relapsinR fever. leprosy. lepra.
monia. yellow fever. and some others and the
microbes causing many Of them have been
determined that 1t IS not the microbes them
Selves that are poisonous. but certain sub
ptomaines. that poison the system.
ANrisEpTIC TREATMENT OF WOUNDS
Now. as previously remarked. this discov- |
prs, of the bacterial cause of many diseases |
Ws sf ct w Tpon S1e
aud dust and water were everywhere hlled |
Sath myriads OF invisible germs. and that |
entered and poisoned the blood.
producing contagious and infectious fevers:
that putrefaction was absolutely Impossible
without their presence. u did not take long for
which some OF these intruders might readily
Ind entrance into the system to its detriment.
,ryslpelss SO frsGuentiv DEVELOPER IN m"y
g Sp,aI:, WHY. blood poisoning 50 often
,ome OF his wounds would heal by
irst intention; while others would suppurato
OF weeks Or show no tendency to heal; why
etanus or lockIaw would occasionally super |
enc; why hospital gangrens would haunt
us ward like horrid phantom and could not
'ysr the medical history OF the war Of the re-.
,,e r. to see what relation there was between
he frGhtful mortality caused by these then
Unknown and unsuspected enemies that were
'Itytu8 upon the commencing armies, in the |
lulet camps. in The midst Of battles. and in
le hospitals. They waged frighttul war.
eerac relentless. continuous. night and day.
through those years against ths blue and the
alis; ACCOMPLISHING little compared with 1h~
eadly germs, Just three times az many
Oldiers were slain by microbes IA wore killed
n battle Those who died from wounds in
ected by these germs surgical Diseases alone
fully one-siXth OF those who fell
pom tho battlefield.
Thus the aHtiseptic treatment OF wounds be-
anne an essential part OF surgical, procedure
his was marvel lous step in advance. To-
ny TO lose case by infection of wounds with
rysipelas. gangrene or sapticH,m "a IL looked
pom rs Disgrace BY a surgeon. showing him
hat there has been defect somewhere IN the
bsolute cleanl mess OF his hands or instru-
tents or dressings. Germ destroyin! agents
re- used. such as corrosive subimatc. carholic
cid iodoform. and the like for instruments.
ponges. dressings. iigatures: the sk in OF the
atient is shaved, scrubbed. and bathed with
solutions. Before operating tho
ands OF the surgeon. nurses. and assistants
lnst be scrupulousy cleansed with brushes |
Jap, and bactericidal agents
PREVENTATIVE sURGEEY
Besides the advances made through the dis