Page 10 - My FlipBook

VI PREFACE.

very portal of the liunian body is u fact which has only recently
begun to receive the attention which its importance demands.
It has been my endeavor in the following pages to bring about
a better understanding of the nature and extent of baeteritic
growths in the human mouth, of the disastrous effects which
they are capable of producing, and, accordingly, a more proper
appreciation of the importance of dental surgery and dental
hygiene as a branch of general medicine.
The contents of the book consist chiefly of original investiga-
tions which, in part, have appeared in different American,
English, and (xerman journals, and in part appear hert- for the
first time.
The first three chapters are designed more particularly for
those of my readers who may not have occupied themselves with
bacteriological studies, it being, in my opinion, utterly impossi-
ble for anyone to obtain a proper understanding of the action of
micro-organisms in the mouth without a knowledge of at least
the elementary principles lying at the foundation of the science
of bacteriology.
Of those works to which I am indebted for aid in my labor,
I wish to mention in particular the Lehrbucli der JMikroorgan-
ismen, by Fliigge, and Die Fortschritte in der Lehre von den
pathogenen Mikroorganismen, bv Baumgarten.
I take pleasure in acknowledging the very valuable assistance
rendered me by my friend Mr. Frank Thilly, of Cini'innati,
Ohio, in the preparation of the manuscript.
The Author.
Bkrlin, Maj', 1800.