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THE K I N G ’S BUS I NES S
already looked upon in some quarters, by many of our; leading physicians, as fit to be classed w ith w itchcraft and necromancy. “Hygiene” and “Sanita tion” are th e slogans for th e fu tu re. Now, w hat ,are th e facts in the case? F rom th e list of all hum an maladies in existence a t any given moment, strik e ou t ..those caused by drunkenness, un restrain ed sexual impulses, drug addic tions, attem p ted suicides, and murders, and th e m iscellaneous iniquitous af flictions which affect, not only th e first, b u t also the second, th ird , and even the fou rth , generation of those who swerve, or are descended from those who have swerved, from th e paths of righteousness, and w hat have we left? Add to these th e m inor ailm ents, and th e ir serious afte r effects, which follow from w ilful and vo lun tary erro rs of diet, dress, careless drink ing of infected wa te r, and one can get some little idea as to th e am ount of disease which no am oun t of medical development can ever control. D iphtheria; antitoxin will cure some cases of diphtheria, b u t it will never eradicate, or even control, th e devastations of th is disease as long as myriads of m ankind, as a re su lt of th e ir own or somebody else’s sin, live in a condition bordering on poverty. The control of infectious or any other kind of disease among a people who are financially em barrassed, ignorant, and leading lives of. selfishness,' has been, an d always will be, a m ere figment of fancy.: Education offers no solution of th e problem , for knowledge of th e ef fects of indulgence in h u rtfu l practices does no t serve to check th e indulgence, except in a sm all degree. The doctor who h as made a specialty of pathology or toxicology, and has gained his Ph. D. therein, is no t thereby restrain ed from staying too long a t his cups. The knowledge o f its fearfu l consequences does n o t in th e least d eter th e medical stud en t from ta in tin g his blood w ith the filth and corruption of venereal dis ease. This little discussed m a tte r of-
class. Indeed, medical science of the la st century has ta u g h t us more th a n any o th e r one th ing th a t we are help less, so far as medical aid is concerned, when facing most of our chronic dis eases. Of course, su rgery h as advanced w ith almost lightning rapidity, and in th e la st 50 years has made use of the new principles of asepsis, whereby op eration s on th e head and abdom inal cavities are now possible. But th e lim it of possible improvement in su rg ery has been nearly reached. Many of the severest operations are perform ed w ith a. m o rtality so sm all as to be practically negligible. B u t th e lim it of possible im provem ent has been nearly attain ed , for th e reason th a t unhealed tissues are, and always w ill rem ain, avenues of pos sible infection, and th e lim it to th e re duction of danger from th is source is already placed irrevocably by th e tim e which is requ ired for tissues to heal, a lim it ‘which cannot he hastened artifi cially, except to a sligh t degree, as Car re l’s recen t work shows. Moreover, the deadliest infections are beyond th e su r geon’s power of relief before profes sional help can be summoned. Finally, th e re is a n a tu ra l lim it to th e am ount of m utilation which th e hum an body will stand, even though th e removal of diseased tissues would be ultim ately beneficial, could th e p atien t only su r vive th e shock a tten d a n t upon th e nec essary vivisection. W hatever advance th e re may be h ereafter will necessarily be in th e n a tu re of intensive develop ment, ra th e r th a n extensive. The same am ount of diligence in th e fu tu re m ust be expended to cut down th e death -rate 1 per cent., th a t was form erly efficaci ous in reducing it 50 per cent. T h at th e re is a n atu ra l lim it to surgical ad vance, a tru e m athem atical lim it th a t can, for ever, he approached h u t never reached, is beyond question. W e are n e a r th a t lim it a t presen t. : The hope of th e p resen t day physi cian is in preventive medicine. Medi cal, i. .e, drug, trea tm e n t of disease is
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