Bowel Flora


Paterson gave this presentation to the British Homoeopathic Congress in Glasgow (September 1948). Experience has shown that where a specific non-lactose organism has been identified, a remedy from that group has given evidence of clinical action. …


DR. JOHN PATERSON

British Homoeopathic Congress, Glasgow (September 1948)

MR. CHAIRMAN, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,

I consider it a great honour to be the first speaker on the programme of this congress, which has as its theme “Homoeopathy and Modern Research”. What I have to offer you today is the result of twenty years observations as physician and bacteriologist upon the role played by the non-lactose fermenting bacilli of the bowel in chronic disease. The subject matter of this paper then will necessarily require to be considered under two heads – (1) Bacteriological, (2) Clinical.

BACTERIOLOGICAL

In 1880 the bacteriologist Eberth succeeded in isolating and identifying the B. typhosus – a non-lactose fermenting gram negative bacillus – and it was easy to provide the experimental evidence of the role this played when found in the intestinal tract.

From that date onwards other organisms were noted as present in the intestinal tract, and their isolation and identification as members of the colityphoid group easy to establish, but as they failed to give any experimental evidence of pathogenesis, they were dismissed as having no significance in the bowel flora.

The publication of the work by Bach and Wheeler, under the title chronic Disease, A Working Hypothesis in 1925 is therefore of some important and must be the starting point for my contribution of this afternoon. The book is unfortunately out of print, and even second- hand copied hard to come by, so I may be permitted to quite and briefly to summarize their work, as their conclusions were in opposition to the then accepted theories, as the following quotations shows. “A point which we particularly wish to stress is that a non-lactose fermenting gram negative bacillus in the faeces, whether it falls into a known variety or not, may be the cause of toxaemia even though it may not give rise to obvious lesions. In fact the great majority never do, nor can cause locally anything more than at the most, a little mucous colitis or some affection of that nature.

“Vaccine therapy principles warrant the belief that if disease symptoms disappear or are much ameliorated after the use of a vaccine made from a particular organism,, then that organism counts at least for something in the production of the disease symptoms.”

Acting on that assumption a polyvalent vaccine of all types of non-lactose bacilli from the bowel was prepared for hypodermic use, and the result of treatment of 500 cases of a variety of chronic disease published. The results are rather striking :

Swift and striking…… 15 per cent. Gradual and excellent…. 65 per cent. Some definite effect…. 15 per cent. Unaffected………. 5 per cent.

CONCLUSION

“our conclusions are based on ten years work, Bacteriological and Clinical, and our results are such that we desire to invite as wide a testing as possible of both conclusions and practice. For if our colleagues can confirm us out of their experience they will find themselves possessed for a new and powerful weapon for treatment of chronic disease, and if they cannot confirm us then one more hopeful path will be shown to be a blind alley and we can turn to new explanations.”

Have we tested, as widely as possible, their conclusions; have we found by experience a new and powerful weapon in the treatment of chronic disease? I trust that in the discussion to follow there may be many who can give of their experience and thus contribute to this Congress upon Homoeopathy and Modern Science, keeping in mind the new standard – the clinical test- set up by their colleagues Bach and Wheeler.

It is not the lot of all participate in this work in the bacteriological laboratory, but it was my great privilege to take up the work as bacteriologist and physician immediately after the International Homoeopathic Congress (London) 1927, when it may be said that he potentized bowel vaccines (Bowel Nosodes) were first introduced to Homoeopathy.

I shall not neglect to give anyone interested in the technical side of the bacteriological data opportunity for discussion, but at the moment I ask that they accept the statement that there was a standard technique and nomenclature in use, which I shall call the Batch technique, when I took over the work in 1928. With this technique it was possible to isolate and identify the types of non-lactose fermenting bacilli which formed the polyvalent bowel vaccine, and to proceed to the clinical study of each as to its pathogenesis.

Within the homoeopathic school the oral vaccine displaced the hypodermic preparation, and the potentized vaccine (nosode) the bacterial emulsion.

The names of the organisms which designate the bowel nosodes are familiar to most of you, but to assist any who are not acquainted, and for purposes of reference late, I offer each member of Congress a list of names of the organisms so far identified in the laboratory and clinical proved, with a list of associated remedies.

This you will note is an extract from a paper published in April 1936, entitled “The Potentized Remedy and the Bowel Flora”. This has been amended and brought p to date by the addition of many more remedies.

By the cross checking method of (1) observing the clinical symptoms present when a particular organisms was identified in the bowel and (2) observing the clinical symptoms which were ameliorated or disappeared after the giving of a particular bowel nosode, it was possible even at that time (after some eight years work) to give some tentative indications of the pathogenesis of certain types.

Now, after twenty years work, combining clinical and laboratory observations I can with confidence record the pathogenesis of each of the named types on that list. I hope you not expect me to give you the pathogenesis now, the subject matter of which takes up a full week’s course of Post-Graduate Class of the Faculty of Homoeopathy.

After ten years’ work Bach and Wheeler invited as wide a testing as possible of both their conclusions and practice.

After twenty years of clinical and bacteriological research I hereby confirm their hypothesis, that the non-lactose fermenting gram negative organisms of the intestinal tract do have a role in the causation of chronic disease, and that in the bowel nosodes I find myself possessed of a new and powerful weapon for treatment.

I have no doubt that many of you will likewise confirm the therapeutic value of the bowel nosodes, and so add your evidence to the proof that the bowel nosodes have stood up to ” the clinical test”.

But I must also, to satisfy modern science the clinical evidence to the laboratory test for that purpose I shall take the first group of organisms on the list : B. Morgan (Bach).

B. Morgan (Bach). This non-lactose fermenting organism occurs with the greatest frequency in the stool, and thus offers greatest opportunity for clinical observation. Accordingly, its “proving” is not only extensive but also detailed. To the Homoeopathic physician the “mentals” and finer details are of prime importance, but for the purpose of this paper I must pass these over and mention only the more gross pathology. The Morgan (Bach) group – which includes all the sub-types – has action mainly on the vegetative system of the body: on the mucous membrane of the whole alimentary tract from the mouth to the anus, and the prolongation of the tract into the liver.

It also acts on the mucous membrane of the whole of the genito- urinary tract. While internally it acts on mucous membrane, it has also marked action on the skin.

From the list you will notice that the main Morgan group has been subdivided into (a) Morgan (pure) and (b) Morgan-Gaertner. Is there any clinical significance of this sub-typing?

In the laboratory technique introduced by Dr. Bach the organism was named according to the sugar reaction at the end of eighteen hours incubation. An organism which produced acid and gas in glucose only, irrespective of what happened thereafter, would be named Bacillus Morgan.

In my laboratory observation I noted that some types thus named B. Morgan (Bach) remained true to the usual maximum period of incubation of of seventy -two hours, and to this I gave the name B. Morgan (pure). In other cases after the initial eighteen-hour period a change was noted so that at the maximum period of seventy-two hours the sugar reaction was that of B.Gaertner, and to this type I gave the name Bacillus Morgan-Gaertner.

All the members of the Morgan group have selective action on the liver, but there is a difference in the degree of action of the sub-types. B.Morgan-Gaertner has been found in the stool more often in the case of acute inflammation of the gall-bladder, acute cholecystitis, and B. Morgan (pure) is usually associated with the more chronic phase of gallstones. the more acute action of Morgan-Gaertner is also noted throughout the genito-urinary tract, but its main action is upon the kidney with the formation of renal calculus. B. Morgan has outstanding action upon the skin.

Here then is a clinical distinction which is in accord with the classification and technique of the bacteriological laboratory. And so throughout the organisms on this list, each has its own characteristic symptoms complex or pathogenesis and definite sugar reaction according to he standard adopted in the laboratory.

John Paterson
John Paterson 1890 – 1954 was an orthodox physician who converted to homeopathy. John Paterson was a Microbiologist, who was married to Elizabeth Paterson, also a Microbiologist. They both worked at the Glasgow Homeopathic Hospital and at the Royal London Homeopathic Hospital.
John Paterson was President of International Homeopathic Medical League in 1939.
John Paterson wrote The Bowel Nosodes, and he was responsible for introducing them into British homeopathy n the 1920s.