The Collected Papers of Paul Ehrlich

This important volume is the first of four; the second will deal with Ehrlich's work on immunology and cancer, the third with his studies in chemotherapy, and the fourth, in addition to a bibliography and indexes, will contain tributes by Ehrlich to his teachers, supporters, and colleagues. The papers collected in the first volume describe work done by Ehrlich during the period 1877-1890, as a university student, as a young hospital physician, and as a free-lance laboratory worker. Although his studies on immune reactions and on chemotherapy, which brought Ehrlich world-wide fame, came after 1890, the earlier work was no less important, since it included his research on the use of aniline dyes for hematological and bacteriological staining, for the study of biochemical reactions, and for the examination of pathological tissues and fluids. The exceptional imagination that characterized Ehrlich's scientific thought is evident throughout this volume, and is nowhere clearer than in his previously unpublished doctoral dissertation of 1878: "Beitrage zur Theorie und Praxis der histologischen Farbung" (an English translation is also included). Written when Ehrlich was 24 years old, the dissertation contains the germs of many of the ideas he was to pursue until his death in 1915. For the student of the history of science, this dissertation has special interest; it underlines Ehrlich's role in the application, to biological studies, of the experience gained by the dyers of textiles in their use of the newly developed aniline dyes. By 1877, Germany had initiated the development of an active dyestuff industry and also took the lead in the synthesis of new dyes. After his doctorate, Ehrlich concentrated on the development of improved procedures for the staining of tissues, of blood cells, and of bacteria. From these studies, he moved to an examination of the capacity of biological systems to reduce dyes and to re-oxidize reduced dyes in the presence of oxygen. This volume contains Ehrlich's memorable paper of 1885 on "Das Sauerstoff-Bediirfnis des Organismus" (also with an English translation), which foreshadows ideas that emerged more clearly from the later work of Battelli and Stern (ca. 1910), of Thunberg (ca. 1920), and of Keilin (ca. 1926). The influence that Ehrlich's early studies had on his followers, especially on Leonor Michaelis (1875-1949), is striking. The volume is made even more valuable by an affectionate introduction by Sir Henry Dale. The format is most attractive, and the editing appears to have been done with exemplary care. The publication of all four volumes is made possible by the enlightened philanthropy of The Wellcome Trust. The editors, the sponsors, and the publishers are to be congratulated on having given to the world of science this splendid addition to its historical literature, and so appropriate a tribute to the greatness of Paul Ehrlich.