Omaha daily bee., 1921-05-13
TOO MUCH OF A GOOD
THING

The Chicago Demonstrators as
sociation is against prohibition,
complaining that under prohibition
it is not able TO get bodies enough
for dissecting purposes. In conse-
quence the medical schools are find
ing it difficult to teach properly hu-
man anatomy. Before many years
physicians may not know anatomy
as well as they should.
Under the old dispensation man
would get drunk on pay day, lay
around on the floor of a saloon or
sit around a hot stove, contract
pneumonia. be carried away to
hospital, and die friendless and
alone. Nobody would claim his
body and the dissecting room got it.
Now that whisky is hard to get the
hospitals receive very few Saturday
night drunkpneumonia cases. A
Saturday night drunk pneumonia
case had about as much chance to
get we'll as SNOWFALL not to melt,
mands that its doctors know an
atonH. Who will volunteer?
For 20 years students gradual
ing in medicine in Chicago have not
seen a case of smallpox. The Detroit
health department says that city has
40 times as much smallpox as New
York City does. Medical students
graduating in New York City get, no
chance to see smallpox. In fact, the
statement is true of medical stu
dents in every section OF the country.
Not one physician in 20 now prac-
ticing medicine has had experience
with smallpox or can recognize
case in the early stages if it Is at
all out of the ordinary.
Recently physician who had
been attending a woman with an
acute skin disease was not able to
make a diagnosis of her case as
smallpox until he became sick HIM
self with an eruption diagnosed as
smallpox, for which he was taken
to the smallpox hospital in an am
bulance. When he got in the am
bulance there sat his patient. They
spent their time while riding to the
hospital discussing the diagnosis of
smallpox.
Smallpox is a very important dis
ease. Early and accurate diagnosis
is essential. What are we going to
90 about it?
In Chicago typhoid fever has be-
come an infrequent disease. The
same is true Of nearly all the large
cities. Few students now studying
medicine get to see single case of
typhoid fever. There is still con-
siderable typhoid in the smaller
cities and in the country. 1t will be
a quarter of a century more before
the disease will come we'll under
control in these districts. In the
meantime it is necessary for the
public welfare that physicians be
able to make an early diagnosis in
case of typhoid. In no other way
can those about be properly pro-
tected.
In the great Salem (O) epidemic
of 1920 the diarrhoeas which pre-
vailed for weeks should have been
recognized as forerunners Of typhoid
and many of them as typhoid. Such
recognition followed by prompt ac-
ton would have saved lives and
money and spared much illness.
Malaria is becoming SO scarce
that MANY physicians do not know
it when they meet it. In the mos
quito season a case Of malaria that
goes undia gnosed and untreated for
a considerable time may cause such
sickness.
Few physicians know leprosy
when they see it.. Students in train
ing never get to see case of lepro-
sy. Like the man who was selling
certain not popular brand of snuff,
ct am asking questions. not answer
ing them" / know this-the COM
cannot afford to have poorly
trained physicians.