The Cleansing, Disinfection, and Protection of the Hands

Dr. Carl S. Haegler. Translated by Charles Heron Watson, M.A., M.B. (Edin.). Pp. xix., 218. Edinburgh and London: William Green & Sons. 1906. Until the present work was published, we believe there was but one book of importance in the English language which dealt in a thorough manner with the subject of the disinfection of the hands, though in the German language there are many. For this reason, as well as for the intrinsic merits of Haegler's researches and reflections on the subject, we cordially welcome the appearance of his book in an English garb. The practical surgeon, not himself a skilled bacteriologist, may perhaps feel a disposition to regard the investigation of the problems of hand-disinfection as a simple matter. The perusal of such a book as that under consideration will, in such case, show him that the truth is far otherwise. The investigations, to be at all reliable, have to be carried out with the most scrupulous care and attention to detail. False conclusions, based upon faulty methods of procedure and an imperfect realisation of the possible sources of error, are as easy to obtain