Sinclair, Sir William J.: Semmelweis. His Life and his Doctrine (Manchester, 1909)

VI. Publication or "Die Aetiologie"

202

IMPORT OF CHILDBED FEVER

(Begriff des Kindbettfiebers) which contains only about a dozen pages.

“ ^Etiologie ” which follows is the central and important part of the work.

“Prophylaxis” does not make a long chapter and its importance is lessened by much that has been already stated in the previous parts of the book.

“Opinions and Correspondence” forms a large part of the work. It is entirely controversial and deals with the opinions which had reached the Author up to the time of publication.

The Import of Child-bed Fever.

(.Begriff des Kindbettfiebers.)

In this division of his book Semmelweis expresses concisely his conception of puerperal fever, but he devotes many unnecessary pages to emphasizing his opinions by repetitions of what he had already written in the course of fifteen years on three different institutions, under Prophylaxis and Correspondence.

It will suffice therefore to select passages and summarize.

“ Supported by the experiences which I have collected in the course of fifteen years in three different institutions all of which were visited (heimgesucht) from time to time by puerperal fever to a serious extent, I maintain that puerperal fever, without the exception of a single case, is a resorption fever produced by the resorption of a decomposed animal organic material. The first result of this resorption is a blood-dissolution (Blutentmischung) ; and exudations result from the blood- dissolution.

The decomposed animal organic material which produces child-bed fever is, in the overwhelming majority of cases, brought to the individual from without, and that is the infection from without; these are the cases which represent child-bed fever epidemics; these are the cases which can be prevented.

In rare cases the decomposed animal matter which