The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1901-02-03
Why the Rusty Nail Is to
Be Feared, "

While the principles established by Lord
Lister have remained unchanged. the details
In the treatment have been greatly s.mpli-
fled and made more efficient. For the infor-
nation OF the general reader. let me state
a few facts. Bacteria are divided into two
principal classes. In accordance with their
form One. known as "'cocci." from the
Greek word coccus-"berry"-may be
likened TO a billiard ball. These occur Ell
Their In punches. which have been lkened
TO punches Of grapes. and hence are called.
again from a Greek term. "staphyIo-cocci."
Others are arranged In chains. like beads.
These are called "strepto-cocci." These last
are very much more virulent and dangerous
than the etaphylo-cocct Both of them pro-
duce pus or matter. and they are the most
widely difused and most common forms
found In infected or suppurating wounds.
One kind OF streptococcus Is the cause Of
erysipelas.
The second form OF bacteria, known az
"bacilli." may be l.kened to a lead pencil.
Among the various bacilli that have been
discovered are those of tuberculosis. glan-
ders, tetanus or lockjaw. etc. i omit many
others found In medical disorders. as they
do not concern this paper. How important
these discoveries are may be seen by the
following facts: tuberculosis, next to that
Of suppuration. Is. perhaps the most widely
extended infection to which man. as well as
animals. is liable. We are all familiar with
It in the form Of Consumption but the
nonmedicsl reader Ia. perhaps. not aware of
the fact that It affects not only the lungs,
but also the bowels. In consumption Of the
bowels: the bones. as Is seen by every sur
geon almost daily, and especially as the
cause Of the crooked backs seen In spine
diseases; in the joints. as Is seen in hip-Joint
disease; white swelling Of the knee. ankle
Joint disease and similar disease of all the
other large joints of the body: In the brain.
as tubercular meningitis: In the abdominal
cavity. as tubercular p%eritonitis: In the skin,
in certain forms Of liberation, commonly
called lupus; In the glands. as in the
swollen glands or punches" in the neck,
and endless other varieties which i need not
name.
The bacillus OF lockJaw II found in great
abundance around stables, and this explains
the fact that hostlers. drivers. cavalrymen,
all Of whom have to do with horses. are es-
pecially liable to attacks of lockjaw. More
over. certain bacteria thrive best when ex-
posed to the open air. Other bacteria, and
among them the bacili of lockjaw, thrive
best when the air Is excluded, and this ex-
plains the danger OF treading on a rusty
nail, which Is popularity and rightly known
as peculiarly liable to produce lockjaw. The
reason Is not because II In q nail. nor be-
cause II Is old. nor because II is rusty, but
because from the earth in which It lies II Is
most apt to be the means OF introducing In
to a punctured wound the bacilh of lock-
Jaw. Such a wound bleeds but very little,
the blood soon crusts and excludes the air.
ard II any OF the bacilli of lockjaw have
been carried into the body. they find In such
q closed wound. from which the aid IL ex-
cluded. the most favorable conditions for
growth and Infection OF the whole body.
Knowing these facts from experiment. the
treatment is clear. Lay open such a wound
and dieinfect II. and lockjaw will not occur.
TheaA tw0 farrpa the sseocrtss nr harry-
like bacteria, and the ''baciIli." or the rod
like bacteria, comprise the great majority
OF dangerous bacteria
II must be remembered that there Is an
enormous number OF bacteria which are not
Some Of them are entirely HARM
less even IL introduced into the human
body. Others are the bacteria of decompo-
sition or putrefaction. which are known as
"saprophytic'' bacteria All of the HARM
less ones are known as ''nonpathogenic''-
that Is. nonproducers OF disease. Those
which produce disease are known az "patho-
genie" and those which produce suppura-
ton as '~'pyogenic," or pus-producing BAG
terra
All of these bacteria are plants, and not.
as Is very frequently supposed, animals of
q low form. The danger from their intro
duction into the body can be best appre-
ciated. perhaps. by the statement of Bel
field. who estimated that a single BAG
oeg
the one-forty millionth part OF a grain. II
given plenty Of food and plenty of elbow
room would so rapidly develop that In
three days II would form a mass weighing
800 tons. II is the old story OF the black
smith who was to get a penny for the first
nail. two for the second, four for the
third. and so on TIN a set Of shoes would
cost more than Croesus could pay for.
The effect OF the bacteria has been deter
mined by experiment to be proportionate
to the dose. A cubic centimeter is a cube
two-fifths OF an inch on each side. One
tenth OF such a cube of q pure culture Of
one bacterlum eproteus vulgaris) contains
225. 100000 bacteria. and II injected under the
of a rabbit will produce death Less
100000 Will produce no effect what |
ever. OF one kind of staphylococcus II &C., |
600. 900 are introduced under the skin of q
rabbit there wifi be produced a small alb |
scess. but It requires 1000. 1000 to produce |
speedy death On the other hand. OF the
bacillus Of lockjaw 1t requires only 100 to |
death. \