The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1901-02-03
THE TINES WASHINGTON SUNDAY FEBRUARY s. 1901

! sipeias, from tetanus. from gangrene, were
only too familiar sights in the pre-anti-
septic days. Then again. there arose one
of these deltyerers of the human race
| whose name can never be forgotten and
whose fame will last SO long as time shall
endure. Jenner. Warren, and Lister are
trfumvirate of names of which any pro-
fession may we'll be proud. Thank God.
| they all sprang from virile Anglo-Saxon
IONS. No praise. no reward. no fame is too
| great for them. That Lord Lister still lives
| to see the triumph of his marvellous ser
vices to humanity is joy to all of us.
And when the profession arose en- masse,
| within the last few years. at the Inter
national Congress of Berlin and at the
meeting of the British Medical Associa.
ton in Montreal and welcomed him with
cheer after cheer. it was but a feeble ex-
| preston of gratitude for benefits which
no words can express.
Before Listers day erysipelas tetanus.
| gangrene. and blood-poisoning in its va
| rious phases were the constant attendant
of every surgeon. They were dreaded
| guests at almost any operation; and when
in rare cases we obtained primary union
without a drop OF pus, without fever, and
with but little suffering, it was a marvel
| Gus achievement Now 1t is precisely re-
| versed. The surgeon who does not get
primary union without a drop of pus,
| with no fever, and with little suffer
ing asks himself-what was the fault In
| my technic? To open the head. the
| abdomen. or the chest thirty years ago
was almost equivalent to signing the
death-warrant of a pafient. The early
mortality of oyariotomy was about GO per
cent: two cut of three died. Now many a
surgeon can noint to a series of 100 abdon1-
| inaI onerations with a fatality of only 2
| nor rent or ? no., cont When Sir SDencer
| weus recordod b;s first Ooo cases of
| ovariotomv n WAS calculated that after
| daa,o,;rr ,bo ,o.-s which Tho natiants
u,bo d;.d f-or, ~. o,.ratio, would have
lived had no o,,er,tion been dome the not
| rasr,, of ,ho ,bousard cases WAS an adj
di,ior of % ono wars IN human life One
| Thousand ovariotomies under antiseptic
| nrao,r,ton. a, ,ba nra,ant ,vopld certain
Iv add At Iaas+ 10 Goa ve,rs IN human life
| y,,o,,,5 M, s,cb a ouaraon ha enoueb for
any, MANY
| .,rh;s ton 10 a ,,,ract rasrl, nj taborious
| .ohos ,as,nr,,, With the
ir,,es t,,,t ,ors of Iiabig and Pasteur on
| fa-m.pt.t,on ris,er wont still further
E,,er hoforo tho 5iscovarv of the bacteria
of s,,-n,,-a+,on If ,ot.rus and of arvsin-
aIas he showed ms exnerimentaIlv how
nv s,,rcicaf cleanliness We could avoid all
infection and 60 banisb these nests from
o,r boenitaIs and hiring life and health to
many who otherwise would have persisted
from, orar.tiops which arc now nerfect-
|
..,rhe rnortalitv of command fractures in
the n,e-a.}isentic davs was ahout 70 nar
cant n, was ono NJ the most dreaded of
all accidepts. It's mortality now is per-
hans not.ovar per cent. and the mortality
| from sepsis after such fracture. in the
| hands Of well-instructed surgeons is al
| most min Prior to Listers day tn. NOR.
| ,alitv of rn,ior amnut,tions varied from
| 5o tn s3 ners cent Now IL is from 10 to
~ nor cont. And so might eo an with
| o,ara.io,, ,fter nnara+ion and show how
,bex, bava become ca afe that one need
10. d-oos any saving axcsntforaI cases
| ..r,h.sa ,,,o modem, discoverias anaas.
,bas,a and antisensis have utterly revoju.
| ,,o,iza5 ,,osa,,, s,,rgarv ,rhev have made
| nossibIs. ooarattous which nv reason NJ
,hai. d,,ra+io,, main and danger vars
| r,,arlv ,nius,ifahls 4, fornner DAYS b,rt
oro ,ow tho daily occunatIon Of a busv
,,ro,ao, And fsr better than this they
| h,.a o-,h,.d nc 70 bring N bornas aud
..oar, which otbervisa ,po,,Id have baer
| hrol,or, ,,r and yvrung with sorrow the
| .,fa,. =, no rasto,ed to dear onas
| -, ,,.,,,,, danandad tho ba,ntnoss and
! .,,.,.,,,, =. ,to Families Tr,nsIata sp,,ros
to- banr,, beor+s and nrosnarous homes
,f ,o,, 90, and then vo,, "a, tell mo what
| Iy,.rro,, and Lister have dome for human
,.,,r,
| IT. ro.,,1+ If ,bas. tu,o yordarf,,I dIs-
| o,..,,a, hoe baer IN senarate ms from, tho
,,,,,,,;,,.,I ,,s, o.. b,, y gr.at g,,,r
| ..f.raat ,heo,ooi.ns s,,cb as n Calvin or
| raa,ho,, I,,5,,,rds war. ,be,, rac,,Ia,7
| . ,,,a oo,,,d disoo,,rsa &c ,aorrod,,, a.
| - ,.,..,,, ~, e, iii. .
| -, r,o.o,,or - , c,,rc,aor
could stir our souls and warm our hearts
as OF oldi great Jurists' as 'us'ifiah or
a Marshall. could eHpound the same prin-
ciples of law which mold good Tor all
| time; great forensic orators as burke
or a Webster could convince US by the
same arguments ana arouse us py the
| same invectVes or the same eioquence
| that made our iathers WHINE cdptFes 10
their silver tongues. But to-day SO rapid
| has been our surgical progress 'eipeau'
Sir Wliham FERGUSON OF fahcoas''
all Of wnom nave dled WITHIN the last
thirty years couid not 'edch niouerh sur