Editing Rudolf Virchow (section)

=== Anti-germ theory of diseases ===

Virchow did not believe in the [[germ theory of diseases]], as advocated by [[Louis Pasteur]] and [[Robert Koch]]. He proposed that diseases came from abnormal activities inside the cells, not from outside pathogens.<ref name=myron/> He believed that epidemics were social in origin, and the way to combat epidemics was political, not medical. He regarded germ theory as a hindrance to prevention and cure. He considered social factors such as poverty major causes of disease.<ref>{{cite web|title=Rudolf Virchow 1821–1902|url=http://ocp.hul.harvard.edu/contagion/virchow.html|publisher=The President and Fellows of Harvard College|access-date=8 July 2014|archive-date=3 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140103010947/http://ocp.hul.harvard.edu/contagion/virchow.html|url-status=live}}</ref> He even attacked Koch's and [[Ignaz Semmelweis]]' policy of handwashing as an antiseptic practice, who said of him: "Explorers of nature recognize no bugbears other than individuals who speculate."<ref name=etzioni/> He postulated that germs were only using infected organs as habitats, but were not the cause, and stated, "If I could live my life over again, I would devote it to proving that germs seek their natural habitat: diseased tissue, rather than being the cause of diseased tissue".<ref>Cayleff, Susan E. (2016). ''Nature's Path: A History of Naturopathic Healing in America''. Hopkins University Press. p. 59. {{ISBN|978-1-4214-1903-9}}</ref>