The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1899-04-19
ORIGIN OF EUMONIA
Not Inflammation, but a Real
Germ Culture.
From the Medical Record.

From the Medical Record.
In pneumonia the importance of
the role played by micro organisms
is cow generally acknowledged DR..
Andrew H. Smith. in his article on
"Croupous Pneumonia" in the forth
coming volume Of the Twentieth
Century Practice of Medicine, has
done much to eIucidate these moot
points and TO remove the difficulties
in the way of more intelligent
understanding Of the causation Of The
disease. He takes the ground that
pneumonia is not an Inflammation of
the lung, but that it is simply a
process of germ culture going on in
the air cells, the culture medium
being supplied from the functional
vessels. Dr. Smith is of the opinion
that the key to the whole problem is
10 the double circulation in the lungs,
thing known to every one, but the
bearing of which upon the pathology
Of pneumonia has been hitherto over
looked Attention is drawn 20 the
fact that in no other organ of the
body but the lung could structural
health and diseased action go on
side by side, for it is the
only one-although somewhat
analogous condition is met with in
the heart-in which the blood supply
for nutrition and function are sepa-
rately provided for.
As might be expected, so radical a
change Of view as to the pathology
Of the disease carries in it's train
numerous new views in respect to
treatment More than one third of
the article is devoted to confederation
of this branch of the subject, in
marked contrast to the usual custom
of writer's We have seen that Dr..
Smith asserts that pneumoaia is not
an Inflammation of the lung, for the
reason tha: in his opinion it does not
affect the nutrition of the organ, but
as process of germ culture in which
the pneumococcus grows in culture
medium supplied by the functional
capillaries of the lung. Hence his
argument runs that therapeutic efforts
should oe directed toward the arrest
or inhibition of this germ culture
[nasmuch as this culture medium is
derived from the blood, any SUBJ
stance added to the latter will also
be found in the former, and if that
substance is inimical to the growth
of the coccus it will in so far act in
the direction sought. Fortunately
the pneumococcus is the most
vulnerable of all tie germs and
possessed Of the least vitality. We
have, therefore, according to Prof
Smith, priori probability that its
career in the lung can be modified by
drugs The one from which the
most satisfactory results in this digec
,ion have been obtained is the
salicylate of sodium. Creosote is
also valuable, as are likewise large
doses of quinine, which have been
credited with an abortive effect long
before the existence Of any kind of
micro organisms was recognized.
In regard to the treatment Of
pneumonia by means of antitozin,
P:of. Smith believes with most
scientific men, that while there may
and probably will be great future
for orrhotnerapy. at present the
results have been too indecisive to
be relied upon as curative or remedial
in this disease. However. the news
has recently come from Berlin that
Prof Wassermann, of that city, a
pupil of Prof Koch, hopes that be
has discovered a serum cure for
pouemonia
There are many more features of
interes: in P:of Smlth's work which
we should like to notice, but it would
be impossible within the limits of an
article to do more than give the chief
points. However, this much may be
said, that the "new views on pneu
mcnia" are likely to prove most
valuable addition to medical knowl.
edge.