Alcohol and the Other Germ Poisons

187 Pages·1924·4.75 MB·English

by  Dr. G. P. Frets (auth.)

ALCOHOL AND THE OTHER GERM POISONS
ALCOHOL
AND THE
OTHER GERM POISONS
BY
Dr. G. P. FRETS
PATHOLOGICAL ANATOMIST OF THE HOSPITALFORMENTAL
AND NERVOUS DISEASES AT ROTTERDAM
SPRINGER-SCIENCE+BUSINESS MEDIA, B.V.
1931
Copyright by Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 1931
Originally published by Martinus Nijhoff the Hague in 1931
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1931
ISBN 978-94-017-6698-2 ISBN 978-94-017-6760-6 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-94-017-6760-6
CONTENTS
Preface .... VII
Introduction
A.ALCOHOL.
I. Data about the use of alcohol by man.
lntroduction . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . .
The amount of alcohol in the blood 3; in the Cerebra
Spinal fluid 5; in the mother's milk 5; in the sperm 6.
a. P a t h o 1 o g i c a I a n a t o m i c a 1 a 1 t e r a t i o n s
o f t h e g e r m-g 1 a n d s . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
b. C 1 i n i c a 1 a n d s t a t i s t i c a 1 d a t a . . . . . 9
I. Natality and inf. mortality, body weight 10; 2. Epi
lepsy 18; 3. Feeblemindedness 36; 4. Malformations 42;
5. Insanity and neuropathy 43; 6. Alcoholism and abuse
of alcohol by the parents 47; 7. Tuberculosis 55; 8. The
capacity of the mother to feed her child 56, 9. Paren
tal alcoholism and crime 57; 10. Acute parental alco
holism 58; 11. Family investigations 61 ; 12. The
influence of parental abuse of alcohol in the successive
genera tions 64; 13. The progeny of alcoholics 66; 14.
The part heredity, germ injury and effects of environ
ment have in the significance of parental alcoholism 73.
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
II. Ex p er im e n t a I in v es t i g a t i o n s 77
Summary and conclusions . . 104
General conclusion . . . . . . . . . . 110
B. THE OTHER GERM POISONS ..... . 112
1. Lead 112; 2. Mercury 118; 3. Thallium 119; 4. Arsenic
and Antimony 120; 5. Phosphor 121; 6. Iodine 121; 7. Nico
tine 122; 8. Caffeine 128; 9. Morphine, opium, codeine, co-
VI CONTENTS
caine, hydras chlorali 129; 10. Alcohols (except aethyl
alcohol), glycerine, dextrine, chloroform, aether and ace
tone 131 ; II. Quinine, strychnine, terpentine, essence,
papaine, hydrocyanide, carbolic, hydroquinone, phenyl
urethane, peptone, creatine 134; 12. Methylene blue 137;
13. Alkalis, acids, salts 140.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS. . . . . . 145
LITERATURE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
A. Alcohol !51; B. The other germ poisons 167.
INDEX OF AUTHORS 175
ADDENDA . . . . . . . 179
TABLES:
Tab. I, after LAITINEN p. II ; tab. 2, N atality a. o. p. 14;
tab. 3, Epilepsy p. 32; tab. 4, Imbecility p. 40; tab. 5, In
sanity p. 48; tab. 6, Alcoholism p. 52; tab. 7, after VON
BUNGE, p. 56; tab. 8, after LUNDBORG p. 60; tab. 9, after
FERE p. 81; tab. I 0, after STüCKARD p. 87; tab. II, after
PEARL p. 90; tab. 12, after FERE p. !29.
PREFACE
A critical review from a scientific and a practical point of view is
required of the significance of parental alcoholism and of the other
germ poisons.
The literatme on the subject is very extensive, but the problern
has not been solved. The opinions on the different investigations are
divided.
The publications on the other germ poisons we find spread about
in the literature. In the handbooks of toxicology very littleis found
about them.
As to the scientific need of a study like the present, the light has
repeatedly fallen on germ poisoning, especially that through alcohol
by the mendelian investigations on heredity, and the question has
arisen as to its value, and on the ground of thosc investigations the
importance is sometimes doubted. Where the problern is in discus
sion in this way, a critical and extensive treatise of the whole liter
atme is required.
In making this study I have adopted the critical standpoint. I have
treated the subject analytically and systematically, so that in many
chapters the different parts of the subject have their turn. In this
way the reader can easily locate himself, and it is also shown where
the weak places in om knowledge of the subject are present.
And as the literatme is treated extensively, the value of the histo
rical method appears, which somewhat enhances here theimportance
of earlier investigations.
Besides experimental research a large space has been devoted to
medical statistical investigations. The tables will demonstrate the
value of the results.
The literatme has not been fully treated in this study, especially
with regard to the earliest investigations nor all the parts of the
problern equally extensively. In some of the publications that are
dealt with here, the missing literatme is mentioned.
VIII PREFACE
The discussion of the other gerrn poisons offers the possibility of
cornparing the different gerrn poisons.
Finally, the increase of our knowledge of gerrn injuries by ray treat
rnent forces us also to a cornparison of its significance with that of the
gerrn poisons.
The problern of parental alcoholisrn and the other gerrn poisons
has a rnedical, a statistical, a biological and a sociological side. By
collaboration of investigators in these different fields of work the
problern will be best considered. The rnedical point of view will be
the rnost irnportant.
This is especially applicable for the practical or eugenic significance
of the problem. In the various countries where an eugenic rnovernent
is developing, with the renewed appearance of alcoholisrn after the
great war, with the increasing urgency of the problern of population,
the need of engenie reforrn arises and then the attention is also drawn
to the alcohol problern. The question is, how far is our knowledge suf
ficient for practical purposes.
The author is indebted to the Dutch Physicians' Union of Total
Abstainers for contributing towards the expenses incurred for the
translation of the rnanuscript into English.
INTRODUCTION
Injuries to the germ (blastophthory) are brought about by chronic
poisoning (mercury, lead, alcohol), by infection (syphilis, tubercu
losis), by constitutional diseases (diseases of metabolism), by chronic
underfeeding and by local diseases of the sexual glands. It may also
be caused by subjection to experiments and further byray treatment.
These injuries we know through pathologic-anatomical examina
tions of the sex glands of the parents, and we also conclude from
examples of defective offspring that such injuries to the germ sub
stance exist.
vVe consider these changes to the germ plasm tobe very indefinite
and they must be strictly distinguished from hereditary modifica
tions. The question in how far acquired characters are hereditary, or
may become so, will not be discussed here.
FoREL ( 1911) classified blastophthorical injuries to the germ as
"any influence, except those of heredity, which directly and immedi
ately disturb or destroy the structure of the cell, so that the pro
ductions of such germs, which otherwise were good in themselves,
would turn outtobe inferior in their further development, in conse
quence of a disturbance of their latent determiners (predetermined
energies). If the respective determiners of the germ cells are perma
nently injured, this injury will without a doubt be transferred to the
predisposition of the offspringandin this manner it may also happen
that it will further establish itself hereditarily in their germ cells. The
blastophthorical disturbances then become hereditary. Alcoholic
poisoning of the germ constitutes the prototype of blastophthory."
FoREL recognises here a certain theory of heredity, which we,
following our own definition, do not accept.
In connection with the possibility that mutations may arise,
that is thus new hereditary variations (NILSSON-EHLE,BAUR,T.TAM
MES; H. J. MüLLER 1927, R. GoLDSCHMIDT 1929), we must bear in
Frets, Alcohol
2 INTRODUCTION
mind that when these might arise from the action of chemical sub
stances (alcohol, lead) such mutations or hereditary deviations would
only be seen in later generations. These changes are namely mostly
recessive; if they arise as modified germ-cells then they, when fused
with normal germ cells, will cause phaenotypical normal individuals
tobe created. Only in the folloVIring generations when two individ
uals which are heterozygotes for the modification mate, will the
modification appear.
Of the several germ injuries named in this work only such as are
caused by poisoning aredealt with.
Chemical substances, as germ poisons, may injure the new indi
vidual in three ways.The poison may affect either the male orfemale
germ cells or the germplasm, namely before conception, or the devel
oping germ in the various stages of development, namely after con
ception. Strictly speaking we discriminate between germ-cell poison
ing and germ poisoning.
In the case of lead poisoning e.g., we are informed by CoNSTANTIN
PAUL that saturnismus of the father leads to abortion. By allowing
any deleterious substance to influence the spermatozoids and the egg
cells before conception, it is possible to get some idea of the difference
in sensitivity of the egg-cells and spermatozoids. 0. HERTWIG is of
the opinion that the egg-cell is more sensitive.
By influencing the fertilised egg in different ways, DARESTE ob
tained many monstrosities with fowls. FERE obtained similar results
by injecting all kinds of chemical substances.
In the case of man, all three effects of the germ poisons have
presented themselves.