English
When the morbific agents as streptococcus are introduced in the vaginal canal, tliey are all destroyed within forty-eight hours {Menge) by the abun¬ dant vaginal secretions. But even when the pathogenic germs force through and invade the economy, the body is not defenceless. When their morbific action is not very virulent, the leucocytes rush up to the locality and destroy them; if complete destruction is not possible for the phagocytes, the lesion is circumscribed by the leucocytes and the exudation. However, if the morbific PATHOLOGY 131 invading micro-organisms are very virulent, then of course the leucocytes are repelled by the negative chemotoxic action of their secretory toxins. And then they invade the economy by the lymphatic or venous path. Per blood has a considerable germicidal power due to its opsonic content. But even in case the microbes enter by way of the stomach or the intestine and reach the portal vein, they have to pass through the formidable fortresses of the bodily defensive mechanism—the liver and the lungs which exercise a tremendous germicidal action, before they can enter into the left heart to be thrown into the general circulation. And whether the microbes enter into the circulatory system by the portal vein or penetrating through the capillaries, any way in blood they have but short-lived existence, for either they are destroy¬ ed or driven into the capillaries, within less than ten to fifteen minutes. Life is indeed a continuous struggle with the micro-organisms to preserve its integrity. Even when there is a general invasion, the body does not give up the task of self-preservation hopelessly. The body enjoys more or less various immunities—racial, ancestral, seasonal, inocula¬ tionary, acquired and passive as a natural 132 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE reaction of the organism to counteract the toxiu products of the disease germs. We know that the Negro races possess a remarkable immunity against yellow fever while they are very suscept¬ ible to tetanus and tuberculosis. The Mongolian race is very predisposed to small-pox, but not to tuberculosis. It is well known that the offsprings of a gouty family are almost immune against tuberculosis. And syphilis runs in Europe a benigu form, which when introduced among savages, rages like an epidemic and exterminates the population. Seasonal prefei*- ence for diseases is also Avell marked as the typhoid and the ' gastro-intestinal diseases in the summer, malaria in the autumn, thoracic disorders in the Avinter and pneumonia in the spring. It is the Chinese who first noticed about four thousand years ago that certain diseases like the small-pox gave an immunity to its victim against its recurrence. On this principle, vaccination has driven away small¬ pox practically from all civilized countries. As a lAi’ophylaxis against infectious diseases, serum therapy is being built up on the sa’me basis, inoculating an animal AAuth the A'irus and thus gradually attenuating the virus through a few successive animals, a serum can be obtained PATHOLOGY 133 which contains enough of antibodies, hut not strong enough to cause any malaise, in the human system. The inoculation of the attenu¬ ated serum is not only a prophylaxis against the disease, but even when the infection takes place, it stimulates the resisting power of the organism by its bacteriolytic (lysogenic), agglu¬ tinative and opsonic action. Various sera have been made and tried as that of typhoid, pneumonia, cholera, but yet only the vaccine of small-pox has given completely satisfactory result. But undoutedly with the improvement ,of technique and Avith better knowledge of bio-chemistry and bacteriology, moditied bacteri¬ al sera promise great results in therapeutics in no distant futui’e. Incubation Period of the Infectious Diseases. 134 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE a CO O} CM I> O -TJ O o lO g rH CM > O t/J - 2 c . ^ C /3 •. ^ ^ ^ ^ c5 p^^rHrHiOCQCMT— I: ^ 00 ^ tz? ce 0 H: 0 10 HI 0 rH CM rH CO 0 CO to <rt ;> a> 0 - 4 -> 0 - 4 >-> 0 0 - 4 -> 0 - 4-3 0 0 -H -3 0 -4-3 t> < (M (M CO CO 0 CO ^ (M 10 0 rH -H CM .2 ^ g rt o ^ ^ 2 a;> a c3 M 3 "o ^ rt ^ S o S Hi t/? r5 .5^ 3 CO ::3 a o o o o o c2 rS o c5 ^ CO •r ^ fl > <v 3 o § M § -r § J o 5a g *3 O <u--i 0 o s s CO o CO 3 O pq S 3 r2 3 s a> 3 O 3-1 o ?-l eh 3 <o :;5 3 ^ 3 CO 3 C 5 O 3 ai a: N OJ 3.i ^ -=3 CD 3 O cx, >> g q 3 00 CD CO 3 O O 3 3 :} SC 3 c 3 O M Ph r- P-t ^ . o o 3 5 <jQflf:^0^^S?3pHcJ5O Ph CZ} Tetanus Bacillus tetani 2 to 3 „ 7 hours Typhoid Bacillus typhosus 14 ,, 3 ” ■\yhooping cough ... 8 ,, 3 ” PATHOLOGY 135 All infectious diseases are now ascribed to microbic agents and they have been all identified except in some eruptive fevers as the scarlatina, measles, small-pox, varcella {chicken ^iox) and ere long, it is expected they will be isolated. The parasytic diseases can bo classified tins way. Diseases due to pyogenetic micrococci:— Suppuration, septicemia, erysipelas and gonorrhea. Acute diseases due to specific bacilli:— Cholera, diphtheria, influenza, meningitis, plague, pneumonia, tetanus, typhoid, yellow-fever. Chronic diseases due to tissue bacilli :— Glanders, leprosy, tuberculosis, mycetoma {Madura foot). Diseases due to protozoa :—Dysentery, filaria- sis, kala-azar, malaria, sleeping sickness, syphilis. But the same morbific agent may cause local or general pathogenesis as for example, when pyogenic streptococcus is inoculated subcutane¬ ously, only a local lesion—erysipelas is produced, but when it is injected into the veins, it causes general infection—septicema. The microbes (krimi) in the feces originate in the same way as those in the lymphatics. Their habitat is the intestine. If some of them {krimi) travel towards the stomach, then in the breath and in the vomiting, there is bad odor. They 136 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE are minute, globular ( micrococci ), white-com- plexioned, long (rod-like bacteria as that of the anthrax), and like the lamb-hair ( leptothrix ).” Charaka III. 7. 9®*. Dental caries : “In this disease the microbes (krimi), orginating from corrupt blood, blacken, perforate and loosen the teeth.” Sns7'ufa II. 16, The disease-producing germs are introduced into the system either through the air as tuber¬ culosis, food and drink as in cholera, through soil as in tetanus, personal contact as in gonor¬ rhea, or through an intermediatory as in malaria (imopheles). As long as the microbes remain in vegetative state, they simply live as parasites, but sparing the host and doing the least harm to the economy, as they take only the minimum food for their maintenance. It is only when the organism is devitalized due to over-work, fatigue. PATHOLOGY 137 malnutrition, or unclernutrition that they become virulent and by their toxic secretion cause func¬ tional disturbances and reactions. Flies deposit microbes in the ulcer and when the ulcer is eaten up by those microbes, (local) edema is produced. Sitsruta IV. 1. 103'*. Chemical (Msa) agents are many, but they can be divided into two classes as endogenous and exogenous. The endogenous toxins are those that are produced autogenously in the cells as metabolic wastes or engendered by the microbes that live on the body as pai’asites. The exogen¬ ous toxins may be introduced with rotten, poison¬ ous, indigestive or disharmonious combination of food and drink, bites of venomous snakes and insects, occupations in lead, coppei’, corrosive chemicals, sulphur, arsenic, quick-silver mines or ovens, especially of coke-coals where in addition carbon monoxide may be absorbed. “Toxins are of two kinds : stable {vegetahle and metallic ) and mobile ( of animal origin ). , io\\ 68 138 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE Stable toxins are divided into ten classes and the mobile toxins into sixteen classes. Hoot, leaf, fruit, flower, skin, exudation, juice, extract, ^dliatiC {chemical princii^le or metal) and bulb are the sources of sthavara (stable) poisons.” Stisruta- V. 2. 2-3'*. “Retention of feces and urine (through absorp¬ tion of their poisonous contents), day-sleep, keep¬ ing vigil at night, drinking of liquor, exposure to , cold and wind, sexual excess, exposure to foul odor, dust, smoke, wind and the sun, ingestion of ( excessive quantity of ) foods that are hard to digest, acid or vegetables (55A:a= leaves of plants), drinking of very cold water, receiving a wound in the head, acidity due to indigestion, Aveeping, reten¬ tion of tear, cloudy weather, extreme depression, some misfortune to the country and untimely season, derange the nerve, venous and lympha¬ tic svstems and vitiate the hlood of the brain and 59 . ^ 1 gyi qici cqi,T ^ =ar i PATHOLOGY 13 {> tlms cause headache with varied symptoms/’" Charaha 1. 17. 4®°. “Foods that are turned into poison by (dishar¬ monious ) combination, are being mentioned.- Do not eat meat or fish with the grains of sprout¬ ing rice, fat, honey, milk, molasses or with bean ( masa-paseolus radiatus ). Do not take clarified butter, if it has been kept more than ten days in a brass vessel.” Sttsruta 1. 20. 12-13“h 60 . i urjicn^ftw 2^^ ii K H cl 'I I <1 II fiiftfiTEmni i nswhfi i cm: faKf% ii '^sfmi'fYcrr, ^'o, a i siig- atmf I TCtr.q^liTiR^w. ^ i ng ^ Tr^Tfh i ^^jcS5i^qm?ii^ I I nqyt; i gngf*n=gl^?