ABSTRACT
This chapter examines theories of decomposition held by Justus Liebig and by mid-century British chemists, and considers the “decomposition dilemma;” in particular the fermentative or “zymotic” pathology which was central in the sanitarians’ medical theory. Liebig portrayed vitality as continually besieged by the forces of inanimate nature. Temporarily these forces could be placated with food which was sacrificed as a substitute for the body’s own tissues. Although some British chemists and physiologists quibbled with certain details of Liebig’s description of decomposition, most shared with him the conception of decomposition as a condition of de-vitalized organic matter which was fundamentally opposed to vital activity. The phenomena of pathology were also included within the vast sweep of Liebig’s comprehensive system of organic chemistry. A central factor was the contemporary legitimacy of multifactoral explanations of disease. To admit a new mode of disease transmission did not require abandoning previously-accepted modes.
