Palla Ákos szerk.: Az Országos Orvostörténeti Könyvtár közleményei 29. (Budapest, 1963)

Dr. Harangby László: Mecsnyikov munkássága és jelentősége az orvostudományban

MECHNIKOV'S WORK AND IMPORTANCE IN MEDICIAL SCIENCE by Prof. L. HARANGHY (Budapest) he last third part of the 19th century resounded from the renewed i- successes of bactriology, since Pasteur, Koch, Löffler and others had discovered the causative agens of the most destructive diseases one after the other. The fight started at once against pathogenic bacteria and it seemed as if the anihilisation of infectious diseases were about to be resolved shorthly. But these hopes proved to be very far from their realisation and successes were soon alternating with failures. The failures could certainly and mostly be explained by development of bacteriology being too quick and too rich in its initial results. Koch himself characterized this state of affairs, when he declined to accept the adoration of his admirers by the following words: „If I have reached more than most of medical research-workers in general, the reason was to be found in the fact that-while wandering in the fields of medical science by chance I got to such a country where gold was lying free on the road." In the field, burning in the fever of gold, it is but the wish of quick enrichment which is being felt, and diligent, unselfish work has no place at all. To a certain degree this was so even in the heroic times of bacteriology, because a considerably number of the research-workers were running after imidiatc successes and extraordinary discoveries, while only very few workers were interested in any abstract and exclusively scientific problems. As for the general public they were claiming for discoveries of new bacteria and new vaccination procedures. In vain did Renan raise his protesting voice, saying: ,,Truth dislikes being