The practical physician, however, sees in Professor von Jaksch's summary the turning-point of many a poor fellow's career,--from one of comparative health into one of organic disintegration, decay, and dissolution,--all the required processes starting visibly from the very smallest of beginnings; any obstruction in the urinary tract or intestinal canal being sufficient to start any of the conditions which end in toxæmia; and, from a careful observation running over several years, I do not think that I am assuming too much in saying that a balanitis is often the tiny match that lights the train that later explodes in an apoplectic attack or sudden heart-failure due to toxæmia; the organic and vascular systems being gradually undermined until, unannounced and unawares, the ground gives way and the final catastrophe occurs,--unfortunately, an occurrence or ending looked upon as unavoidable by the friends of the victim. They cannot see any danger; the idea that diseases have the road paved, not only for an easy entrance but an easy conquest, by the action of these toxic agents on the tissues, is something that they cannot grasp. These blood changes or blood conditions are things too intricate, and the physician who understands them is, to them, a visionary and unpractical man. These conditions are, however, neither new nor unknown, and there is really no excuse for the ignorance exhibited in these matters by the general public, as it is through the blood that this mischief takes place. They can reason in their impotent way, that they should drench themselves with "blood tonics" and all manner of nauseous compounds to "purify" their blood, but the simple, scientific truth is something beyond their understanding, as well as something that they steel themselves against.
Sir Lionel Beale, in observing the immense importance he attaches to blood composition and blood change in diseases of various organs, truly remarks that "blood change is the starting-point, and may be looked upon as the cause, of what follows," the other factor being the "'tendency' or inherent weakness or developmental defect of the organ which is the subject of attack;" to which he adds that he feels convinced that, if only the blood could be kept right, thousands of serious cases of illness would not occur; while the persistence of a healthy state of the blood is the explanation of the fact that many get through a long life without a single attack of illness, although they may have several weak organs; and that an altered state of the blood, a departure from the normal physiological condition, often explains the first step in many forms of acute or chronic disease. Sir Lionel has been a pioneer in the field of thought that looks for the cause of the disease, which, however remote it may be, should not be overlooked as a really primary affection. His extensive labor in the microscopic field has fully convinced him that many of the pathological changes in the different organs are due to what might be called some intercellular substance that is deposited from the blood. (Beale: "Urinary and Renal Disorders.")