New Britain herald., 1921-04-22
DOCTOR DESCRIBES
 MEANING OF SHOCK
Harvard Physician Experiments
 on War Developments


 coveries made by pr. Walter B. Can non of the Harvard Medical school and other American. British, and French medical officers toward the close of the world war have brought forth new evidence regarding the cause and nature of the strange con- dition known as shock a condition that led to innumberable deaths in war time and frequently has a sim liar result after accidents in time of peace.
 Shock, or wound shock, as it is often called has long baffled the med ical profession" Dr. Cannon said to- day to The Associated Press, on be- ing asked to describe the results of his important work in France.
 This condition, which by the way should not be confused with she'll shock, an entirely different phenome- non, usually develops some hours aft CT a serious wound or accident. It frequently followed grave she'll wounds in the war, and often comes on after a person has been seriously hurt in an accident in times of peace, after, for example, he has had limb crushed in d railroad accident.
 A man in a state of shock usually lies perfectly quiet, his skin is cold and moist with sweat, his pulse is rapid and thready, his arterial pres sure is much reduced, he breathes rapidly and superficially, and al- though not paralyzed he has little energy and his mind is dulled. He often complains of being cold and thirsty This condition may be fol- lowed by death or by gradual recov- cry.
 There have been numerous theo- ries of the nature of shock. Some doc tors held that shock resulted from nervous collapse, others that it came from a clogging of blood vessels by fat from wounds, some that 1t was due to paralysis of the nerves con- trolling the arteries, others that the adrenal gland was somehow affected so as to do the mischief, and so on.
 Our work in France gave us op- portunities to study shock in the ut most detail. One by one we threw out the theories advanced in former years.
 We finally tested and established the fact that the condition results from the tearing or crushing of mus cles or other tissues by missiles mov- ing with terrific velocity. The dam aged or dead tissue soon becomes toxic, or in other words acts like sort of poison. This toxin causes an increased permeability of the small est blood vessels. the capillaries and thus there is lost through their walls quantities of the fluid portion of the blood which should be in circulation. The result is somewhat similar to that of great loss of blood from the body"
 American, British, and French medical and surgical officers CO., operated in the investigations, some of which were made at Bethume in 1917, some in London, and others at Dion in 1918 in a laboratory of the American ExpeditionaryA Force under Dr. Gannon's direction.
 Toward the end of the war we had learned much about methods of treat ing such cases. finding that it was helpful to keep the patient amply warm, to give him quantities or water and if necessary to transfuse blood into his system iron, somebody elses.' he said.
 .eThe mass of information about shock which was collected during the war and will ultimately be published is going to prove useful in times or peace, for the condition often de velops after accidents of various kinds in which there is extensive tear ing or crushing of the tissues. and physicians will now be able to handle such cases more effectively than ever before
 Dr. Cannon is now engaged at the Harvard Physiological Laboratory in studies of the functions of the thy roid gland, following his discoveries recent years concerning the adre- nal glands.