As early as 1878, in his classic treatise on surgery, John Ashurst, Professor of Clinical Surgery at the University of Pennsylvania, had included among the dangers of phimosis increased susceptibility to venereal infections and "predispos[ition] to the development of malignant disease of the part." Among regular doctors in the 1880s and 1890s, the most popular theories of cancer held that inevitably it was "excited," as Sir Herbert Snow said, by "som continued
mechanical irritant." Different organs of the body were susceptible t various irritants.
Part Title: Occupational Safety and Health Standards' Part Number: 1910; Subpart: I; Subpart Title: Personal Protective Equipment; Standard Number: 1910.132; Title: General Requirements; 1910.132(a):Personal protective equipment for eyes, face, head, and extremities, protective clothing, respiratory devices, and protective shields and barriers, shall be provided, used, and maintained in a sanitary and reliable condition wherever it is necessary by reason of hazards of processes or environment, chemical hazards, radiological hazards, or
mechanical irritants encountered in a manner capable of causing injury or impairment in the function of any part of the body through absorption, inhalation or physical contact.