Centenary year of scientific papers in the British Dental Journal

In this paper Professor Fleming describes several aspects of antiseptics. He begins by considering the influence of the medium on the antiseptic, and of far more relevance, the speed of disappearance of the antiseptic. He then describes the ineffectiveness of an antiseptic in sterilising and treating a septic wound, backing up his remarks with experimental evidence. His lecture then looks at the effect of chemical antiseptics on the body's normal protective mechanism, specifically how some antiseptics inhibit the antibacterial effect of protective fluids (such as saliva and tears) as well as the antibacterial action of leucocytes. At the conclusion of the lecture he mentions specificity, and prophetically remarks on how penicillin may be used in the future in the treatment of septic wounds.