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The further development of Mechnikov's ideas is outlined, which was accomplished by the representatives of the Moscow School for General Pathology (founded by A. B. Focht) in terms of: 1) clarification of the mechanisms for adaptation of the organism under conditions of pathology and adoption of a general pathological approach in the explanation of pathological phenomena--by V. K. Lindemann; 2) in the field of endocrinology and gerontology--by V. G. Korenchevskii; 3) the problems of age-determined reactivity--by G. P. Saharov, author of the concept about the "organic immunity".

[Zoeros Pasha's report presented to the Sultinate on his return from Paris]

The Ottoman Empire dispatched a committee consisting of Zoeros Pasha, the president, Dr. Hüseyin remzi and veterinarian Hüseyin Hüsnü, who were members sent to learn how the method of the vaccination of rabies was practiced in Paris in 1886. Zoeros Pasha relates their studies in Paris, as well as his idea on the novelties he observed there and comments on the advantages of them in case of application in the Empire, in his report dated December 29th of 1886, prepared on his return from Paris. Zoeros Pasha and Hüseyin Hsnü Bey learned the vaccination practice, attending Pasteur's laboratory. Zoeros Pasha studied bacteriology for three months and Hüseyin Remzi attended the laboratory of "Jardin des Plantes" in order to do some zoological researches. When Pasteur went on vacation, Zoeros Pasha provided for Hüsnü Bey to attend the Veterinary School of Paris and directed his attention to the anthrax vaccination found by Pasteur. Hüseyin Hsnü Bey and Dr. Hüseyin Remzi Bey composed a book based on their translations on the subject Zoeros Pasha also mentions in his report the following topics on which he says he could report, if desired: 1. New methods of treatment applied for heart and lung diseases. 2. The most effective prophylactic methods and sanitary precautions on the epidemic and infectious diseases. 3. Improvement planned for the Imperial School of Medicine. 4. Use of anatomy in finding out criminals, in order to help the police forces.

[From dreaded epidemic to rare disease - smallpox in Sweden 1750-1900]

Smallpox contributed to the death of 300,000 people in Sweden between 1750 and 1800. It was one of the most feared diseases of the time. Most victims were children under the age of 10 years. It is estimated that one out of every ten children died from smallpox. The mortality rate was between 10% and 20% but those who survived faced severe complications. Most common were the disfiguring pockmarks among those previously infected. It turned out that women who had contracted smallpox married much later in life than the healthy. Also, both female and male fertility was lowered by smallpox infection. By the mid 1750s inoculation was introduced in Sweden. This was a preventive method where a mild infection was given by putting smallpox matter into an incision in the skin. Success was restricted to the wealthy, even if the doctors tried to reach the common people. The main reasons were lack of confidence for doctors, medical and epidemiological risks, costs and an ineffective organization. In 1801 Eberhard Zacharias Munch of Rosenschöld performed the first vaccination with cowpox matter in Sweden. In a few years an extensive practise was stabilized, which made the Swedish population one of the best vaccinated in the world. Moreover, a unique registration was compiled which, together with the parish records, makes the country one of the best documented. The main reasons behind the success was previous experiences of inoculation, international influences, abolition of the physicians monopoly, an effective organization, better opportunities for financing and rewards, and the compulsory law of 1816.

[Plans for the establishment of central vaccination committees in the institutionalization of Medicine in Colombia]

The fight against smallpox epidemics in the Granada at the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th centuries involved a whole series of actions which demonstrated the new ways of treating the disease. First the application of the innoculation and then the vaccination coincided with a greater general concern for the health of the population. At this time and especially with the arrival of José Celestino Mutis on Latin-American soil science in Colombia embarked upon an institutionalization process which also involved Medicine. José Salvany's proposals of stablishing Central Vaccination Committees were made in this context. The analysis of these proposals and their contribution towards "establishing institutional spaces" are the axes upon which this study is based.

[German-Hungarian medical relationships during the Enlightenment; including an 18th century work on inoculation against plague]

The influence of German science and medicine on the development of Hungarian medicine in the age of Enlightenment has been extraordinary strong. Many Hungarian medical students stayed in German medical faculties. The medical interrelationships between Germany and Hungary in the 18th century are discussed in an overview according to the following dimensions: education of protestant Hungarian medical students at German >>Aufklaerungs-Universitaeten<<, practical and theoretical resonance, membership of scientific societies, personal contacts and correspondence. Outstanding personalities of this area were Daniel Fischer, István Weszprémi, Abraham Vater. Special attention is given to a new idea: inoculation against plague was first described by A. Vater in his work Blattern-Beltzen (1721). Thirty years later I. Weszprémi published his original conception - independently from Vater - in the Tentamen de inoculanda peste (1755).

The most elegant immunological experiment of the XIX century

When we remember that immunology was barely a decade old and knowledge of circulating antibodies only two years old when Ehrlich performed the experiments described, we can appreciate the inventiveness of his experimental designs. With little wasted effort he planned simple and rapid experiments to answer crucial questions about the mechanism of passive transfer of antibody from mother to fetus to suckling young. Most remarkable and difficult were the foster mother experiments, as anyone who has tried these with mice will attest. But they were judged to be critical and thus were pursued with ultimate success. These experiments would not be improved upon for 60 years, when the identification of immunoglobulin classes made differential transplacental and transglandular passage of immunoglobulins an object of interest. To conceive of studying the kinetics of the immune response by measuring changes in antibody concentration in the milk of lactating animals was yet another demonstration of the fertile imagination that had contributed so much to histology and hematology, and would soon contribute equally to experimental oncology and to scientific pharmacology.

[Spread of Chinese variolation art to the western world and its influence]

Smallpox inoculation or variolation is a great invention of medicine in ancient China. In this paper, we introduced the process of spread of smallpox inoculation technique from China to western world (mainly to England), and reviewed the royal experiment of smallpox inoculation on human being and its influence on the prevention of smallpox in western countries. The spread and practice of smallpox inoculation in western world was an important event in the history of intercommunication between eastern and western medicines, which is worth emphasizing and further studying.

'They might as well brand us': working-class resistance to compulsory vaccination in Victorian England

From its origins in resistance to the 1853 Compulsory Vaccination Act, the Victorian anti-vaccination movement successfully challenged the public health policies of an increasingly interventionist state. Anti-vaccinationists were not only middle-class reformers, but were also drawn from a politically active working class. These campaigners saw compulsory vaccination as an extreme example of class legislation, for its policy and administration implicitly targeted working-class infants and inflicted multiple penalties on a public who considered themselves 'conscientious objectors'. Anti-vaccinationism was quickly absorbed into English working-class culture. Indeed, it helped to reorganize working-class identities around the site of the vulnerable body thereby absorbing many people into a working class who interpreted the violation of their bodies as a form of political tyranny. Participation in this movement was, however, also an exclusive exercise for anti-vaccinators, as respectable working-class citizens distinguished themselves from members of the 'undeserving' classes. This paper explores the class nature of the Vaccination Acts, their relationship to the New Poor Law, and the political implications of their administration. It also imbeds anti-vaccinationism firmly within working-class culture, illustrating the campaign's relationship to popular protest and entertainment, and this legislation's impact upon working-class bodies.