A parasitic or germ theory of disease : the skin, the eye, and other affections / by Jabez Hogg.

  • Jabez Hogg
Date:
1876
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Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A parasitic or germ theory of disease : the skin, the eye, and other affections / by Jabez Hogg. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    II THEORY OF DISEASE. 101 theory, because he believes it has not been shown by its advocates to have any relation whatever to disease, and is likely to divert attention from causes far more im- portant. Professor Wanklyn also proved by his ammo- nia process that the total quantity of organic nitrogenous matter passing out of the lungs and held in solution in the form of watery vapour during the space of twenty- four hours in health amounts to about three grains. In disease it increases, and even in health the quantity of free ammonia varies considerably. Dr. Ransome like- wise ascertained that a larger quantity of organic matter is thrown off in Bright’s, and some other diseases; while in catarrhs, measles, dipththeria, &c. a great deficiency is noticed. This fact scarcely chimes in with the “ organic germ ” theorists, who assert that large quantities of albuminoid matter, vibrios, &c. are found in the air-passages in catarrhs and other diseases. With regard to the filtration of air through cotton wool, this does no more than arrest the moisture thrown off' by the lungs saturated with ammonia and other salts. It is now several years since Professor Tomlinson, of King’s College, showed how impossible it is to keep any vessel chemically clean, or even decently free from the dust floating about in a closed-up room. He found that corking up bottles did not prevent the entrance of particles of matter; and, after many trials to exclude the dirty atmosphere, he tried cotton wool, and found, by placing a pledget of this material quite loosely in the necks of bottles or glass tubes, they remained perfectly clean for many days. This chemist, by employing tiasks or bottles thus prepared, was also enabled to delay the crystallisation of saturated solutions of salts to an almost indefinite period. He excluded in this way all particles of inorganic matter which at once form a nucleus of crystallisation; but such particles of matter are easily detected, and are certainly not to be confounded with “ organic germs.” The members of the medical profes-