The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1901-02-03
DEVELOPMENT Of the
Serum Treatment.

Another remarkable recent discovery, the
result Of numerous and careful investiga-
lions IN the laboratory. n q wholly new
means Of treatment: viz. that method
which Is known as orrhotherapy or serum
therapy. or the treatment by injecting Ger
tain antitoxins under the skin by q hypo-
dermatic syringe. II would lead me too far
TO enter into the theory upon which these
were first used. Sufice II to say that in the
blood Of an animal that has passed through
q certain disorder the liquid part contains
an antidote or antitoxin- II a certain
amount Of this 10 injected under the skin
OF an animal or man suffering from the
same disorder In its incipient stages the
antitoxin prevents the development Of the
disease. The use Of this method has thus
and Its results In diphtheria and other medi-
cal disorders have been perfectly marvellous
In surgery. however. less favorable results
have been obtained, but IN all probability i
the future we shall be able to do for some
Of our surgical disorders what the phys-
clan can do to-day for diphtheriA =
There has been also discovered another
means which in surgery has rendered some
valuable service. From certain organs. a.,
for instance. the thyroid gland ths gland
whose enlargement produces goitre0. We can
obtain q very potent extract Of great value
In cases Of goitre very noteworthy results
have already been obtained by the admins
tration Of this thyroid extract A number
Of other organs in the body Of animals have
been used to combat certain disorders In the
human body with a~dvantageL The chief
development Of both Of these nsw forms Of
medication. however, VIII take place in ths
next century.
Another direction In which ne century
has seen enormous progress - IN the intro
cuction of instruments Of proc1sion. When
I was . student, In the early 'eoa, instruc-
ton In microscopy was co~nspiouous only BY
its absence from eur medical curriculum.
Now every student WIN graduates b more
or less Of an accomplished microscopic and
carries into his practice the methods and
observations which tho microscope fun.
nishes HIM At the same period I remember
being greatly interested In Q disoussjon
which two Of my teachers had - to wheth-
sr It was possible to make a application
accurately to the vocal chords tn the
larynx. Now every tyro IN medicins MAKES
such applications to the larynx - . rou-
tine procedure In cases requiring II and
similar methods have been applied BY the
o-phthalmoscope to examine the interior Of
the eye: the rhinoscops. to Examine the In
terror Of the nose: the otoscope. for exami-
nation of the ear, and other similar instru-
ments for examining all the other hollow
organs of the body. II I add to these the
hy-podermatio syringe. the aspirator. which
may be described as . large hypodermafio
syringe for suction instead Of for
injection: the clinical Thermometer, which
was introduced In the late 'eos: the hemo-
static forceps, for controlling hemorrhago
by seizing the blood vessels and clamping
them till we have time to tie them. and 9TH
er instruments intended. to facilitate our
operative methods. 1t will be seen at once
that the armamentarium of the modern
surgeon u very different from that of his
predecessor at the beginning. or even At the
middle, Of the century.