The sun., 1901-05-12
THE X-RAY IN MEDICINE.
an EXPERT TELLS or THE PRESENT
STATE or THE SCIENCE.

LabOratOry-MAuy tsefuI Bo9uI0 Xxx
psctsd. but No Miracles x.RAy In
the Treatment and Diagnosis Of Disease.
The University and Bellevue Hospital
Medical College has a new X-rsy labora-
tory which is probably the most COM
nlete and practical installation Of Ito kind
in this country. 1t was given to the col
lecp AZ a memorial OF the late Ed ward V.
Cibb. and the donors have provided not
ony for Installing ana operating II, but
also ,or keeping N supplied with all the
new and improved apparatus that may
appear with the development Of the science
The first purpose Of the laboratory Is the
making Of X-ray examinations Of hospital
and clinic cases coming under the super
vision Of the college Incidentally, there
will be study and research along the lines
Of the practical use OF X-rays and OF I'M
provement in methods and apparatus.
f. y Caldwell. the director Of the labora-
tory. is enthusiastic over its possibil-
ties and the opportunities il will afford
for practical and systematic work
With conditions so favorable, import
ant results should be obtained" he said
10 SrN reporter Almost every hos
pital in the city bought an X-ray outfit in
the early days of the X-ray enthusiasm, but
most Of the m achines are little used and
weld very indifferent results Busy doo-
tors mad no time 10 master the electrical
and Photographic problems that confront
an aspirant to successful X-ray work. The
hospitals didn't appreciate the necessity
Of paying an expert to operate their ma
chimes, and 40 accomplished little. Prac-
ticaIly the same thing Is true in private
puc'lCe Many doctors own X-ray out
hts Few make much Use Of them.
Now. here we have rare opportunities
for practical work Patients by the score
are brought in from the hospital and we
have every facility for satisfactory work.
We ought 10 do "A great deal toward deter
mining the possibilities of X-ray science
In it, relation TO surgery and medicine;
What are the possibllties?" asked the
Mr Caldwell laughed.
That depends upon the optimism OF
the man 10 whom you talk about 1t. Per-
sOnally, although believe in great things
for N-ray science, don't expect the mira
c,es that some enthusiasts prophesy. I'm
Inclined 10 think that the future develop
ments will come largely in the shape Of
plenty Of room there.
We must be able to do, with absolute
accuracy, what Is prOhlematCal and un-
certain now. As things are one cant al
ways get the kind of ray one wants The
vacuum Of the tube is either too high or too
low There is great difficulty in regulating
the vacuum and holding il, in keeping the
tube from getting hot. and in any number
Of other details Those difficulties will
all be eliminated, but I'm afraid that X-ray
impressions will always be shadow pictures.
that il will be impossible 10 refraCt or re-
feet the light so as to obtain true images
rhen too there are absolute physical
limitations that will prevent photography
from going beyond a certain point II is
easy enough 10 get pictures Of bones or
Of dense organs back of substances less
dense, hut when an organ not Opaque to
the N-ray j. imbedded in tissue Opaque 10
the N-ray how are you going to get n shadow
Of IT.
That is the trouble in diagnosis for gall
stones host Of experiments have been
nal alpns that line with varying results.
TIE sal bladder i under the liver, which il
rather Opaque 10 the N-ray Moreover,
the .allstouc~ themselves are usually
composed II a substance which is not
very hard or dense and which does not
give a strong shadow.
"R'rantlr examined patient by N-rays
AMI the plate showed 1--WE clearly marked
Shadows that We're presumably stones.
Surgeons operated and found the galstones
eya"tly rs the N-ray had shown them
On Nh" other hand, ! have known Of cases
that were unluestionahly gladstone, but
I'm which the N-rav could show no stone
lalows Cnlue-tionahly the N-ray is
exceedingly valuable in gladstone cases
bit il isn't infllllbln and operations are not
based upon ItS evidence. unless that cVi-
dnnCe Is strongly pprrOhOratod by other
symptoms II i probable that many Of
the gladstone shadows on plates shown by
enthusiasts are not shadows az all, but
merely the result Of bubbles in the developer
or some other photo graphic accident.
In kidney trouble, X-ray diagnosis IL
much more accurate. Kidney stones are,
usually dense and hard as n bone, and
Civ" a heavy shadow.
YOU see IL is in connection with such
diseases as these that X-ray science has
hrOddened its scope. At first. itS medical
nad surgical value was supposed 10 boz
confined chiefly 10 wounds from bullets
or other foreign substances, and 10 bone
troubles
Experiments have been made with the
hvcr and, Of course, the rays Will show
whether the organ is Of norma! slZe hnt they
do not show. very clearly any condition
Of The tissue With the heart and lungs, II is
another story The X-rays can do i'm
portant work in such cases. DR.. Williams
o' Boston II one of the physicians who have
devoted special study b. the N-ray dag
nostS of tuberculosis of the lungs. He says
that consumption can bc detected by the
A-ray before symptom can be dsccrned IN
any other way that the exact extent Of the
disease can be determined and It's prog
ress can be traced with absolute accuracy.
The cONd tlou of heart and lungs may
BE- studied by watching the action Of the
diaphragm, in the microscope. Pneumonlas
progress also can be- clearly traced by the
use Of Mays As for tuberculosis OF the
bone or joints photography Is invaluable
nere Especially in cases of knee troubles
II j. often difficult a. decide whether the
trouble comes from displaced cartilage or
tuberculosis, but an N-ray plate will usually
settle n" question
You know, IN the beginning Of the OK
cfom"n' over the N-ray, q good deal was
SAD about the treatment Of tuberculosis
by N-rlys not the diagnosis. hut the
Treatment The theory was that light
Kills hucllh and that N-ray Hight, being
capable Of penetrating any tissue, could
D. used for germ killing in internal organs
som" eXpcrmenter, say that such
treatment has been successful Many
slrh cts", are reported, but most Of them
are doubtful. \ few of them must b"
credited Many physicians say that such
treatment can be successful only IN -u-
por'.u. cases. whore the affected parts
ar near the surface They say that the
ThV- break down these diseased parts,
ciI," sGNpuratlon, discharge and, some
t't"~ cure. CanCer0ns growths have
b""' treated In the same way, and asser-
'h, pt cancer cure by the X-ray have
b"rn uadn
I.N'' here n treatment somewhat SINH
~ called tho EiD.aD LIGHT. trpH tnpDfP