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296 THE MICRO-ORGANISMS OF THE HUMAN MOUTH.

bacteria and their fermentative products exert a deleterious iniiu-
ence even upon the normal mucous membrane and upon the
entire organism bj impairing its condition, lowering the sensa-
tion of taste, spoiling the appetite,—in other words, by producing
a condition of the mouth which corresponds to that condition of
the stomach denominated as "disordered stomach"? May not
the " coated tongue," the " pappy taste," etc., which are concom-
itants of the disordered stomach, be conditioned, independent]}^
of the stomach, by fermentative processes in the oral and
pharyngeal cavities? Indeed, the "spoiled mouth," as well as
the " spoiled stomach," deserves a place among the diseases of
the digestive tract, and many complaints of loss of appetite and
of bad smell, which are said to come from the stomach, no
doubt have their origin in the neglected condition of the oral
cavity.
As early as 1756 PfaiF^*^ had recognized the importance of
putrefactive processes in the mouth. " It is necessary," he w^rites,
"to remove the tartaric matter, because it is a heavy body and
daily accumulates mucus, wdiich alters the fine color of the teeth,
gradually putrefies, attacks the gums, or even destroys their con-
nection with the teeth. The teeth consequently become loose, a
very disagreeable odor is emitted from the mouth, which is often
falsely attributed to the innocent stomach."
The investigations of von Kaczorowski ^^ have furnished a
sati?;factory solution of the above question. He had long held
the belief that the nature of most inflammatory processes of the
gums consisted essentially in an infectious process brought about
by micro-organisms, and was strengthened in this belief by the
observation that a frequent disinfection of the inflamed gums or
oral cavity of teething children removed in a remarkably short
time not only the inflammation, but also the concomitant catarrh
of the mucous membrane of the respiratory and digestive tracts,
the feverish excitement, convulsions, conjunctivitis, eczema, etc.
Xot in children alone, however, but also in patients of every
age has this fact been repeatedly observed. Von Kaczorowski
justly opposes the view that the tongue is an indicator of the
condition of the stomach, and that the latter is always responsi-
ble for the want of appetite. On the other hand, according to