The bath: a nursing ritual.

This article examines the bath as a nursing ritual, using examples from the literature from the 1880s to the present time. Selections from nursing periodicals and other literature are used to support the connections between past and present nursing practices in relation to bathing and hygienic care. The bath represents part of the essential character of nursing and is rooted in the beliefs, art, and science of the profession. It is a channel for many other nursing activities and responses, and as such, occupies a necessary part of nursing's repertoire and identity.