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One more point deserves to be mentioned here: von Langenbeck was an accomplished master in the technique of operative work, and he took pains to transmit his skill to his pupils. One of his great feats, as narrated by those who often witnessed incidents of this nature, is briefly described as follows:—von Langenbeck would appear from time to time at the operating table dressed in a light summer suit of clothes, and would immediately proceed to his work without putting on a gown or taking other measures to protect himself from the soiling which so frequently is associated with operative work; and yet, when the operation was completed, the closest observation failed to discover a single spot of blood or other pathological product upon his clothes. The narrator of this tale evidently believed, and perhaps rightly, that the incident showed how thoroughly familiar von Langenbeck was with the distribution of the blood-vessels that supplied the region upon which he was operating and also how skilful he was in the handling of his scalpel. The incident, it should be remembered, occurred many years before it was thought necessary to take certain precautions against the spread of infection.