The Ypsilanti daily press. (Ypsilanti, Mich.) 1928-1962, 1942-06-29

OF our means OF diagnosis in recog-
nlzing the different forms: few
cases get missed, so they all get
IN the statistics.
In fact the oldest and still one
Of the best methods Of objective
diagnosis the use of the stetho-
scope, was developed in connection
with its use in recognizing heart
disease. The difference between
objective diagnosis and subjective
diagnosis is that in subjective di-
agnosis the patients tell you what
Is the matter; you can neither
prove nor disprove it. If patient
says,"I have a headache" there is
no way on earth for YOU to tell
whether that is true or not.
Objective Diagnosis
In objective diagnosis the ply
stefan tells the patient. II a pa
tent has a heart murmur, the
stethoscope will reveal it and the
doctor is on safe and certain
ground.
Another indispensable method
Of examining the heart in an OBJ
jective way is the X-ray. 1t will
tell the size Of the heart, any
bulges in the heart or great ves-
sells. 1t tells things that the stetho-
scope cannot tell because there are
certain limitations to the stetho-
scope. When a condition of the
heart is deep-set under layers Of
lung tissue, the stethoscope can
not bring it to the examining ear.
saw a patient the other day who
showed great dilatation of the
heart and great vessels on the x
ray, whereas three very competent
physicians had just pronounced
the heart and chest entirely nor
NAL.
Blood Pressure Apparatus
Still another method of examin-
ing the heart is the blood pressure
apparatus. which tells the condi-
tion not only of the heart but Of
the entire arterial system.
The last of the great objective
methods Of examining the heart is
what is known as the electrocardi-
ograph. This is a very delicate
electric galvanometer which is
able to record differences IN cleo
trical potentialities when a muscle
contracts. The heart, being a mus
Gle, makes a record on the electro
cardiogram which reveals the
working Of its muscular contrac-
tions.
BY these methods, the examiner
can tell what is the matter with a
heart often without even asking
the patient a question. The heart
makes certain sounds during its
contractions and relaXations and
these are transmitted by the
stethoscope. There are certain nor
NAL sounds and there are a number
Of abnormal sounds.
With the X-ray the examiner
can tell the exact size Of the heart,
its position in the chest and
whether or not it has any weak
ness in its walls. The blood pres
sure apparatus tells the examiner
how much work the heart has to
do and how much work it is doing.
The electroc Autograph tells
whether the contraction wave Of
the heart passes over the right
pathways, whether it does so in
the normal time and whether there
are any interruptions or irregu-
lsrities in the contraction wave.
By these various means the exami-
ner has an objective record Of the
heart in action.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
E. S.:-Should anyone with
SINUS trouble wear hat or any,
thing on their head? Does night
air make sinus trouble any worse?
Answer: People who have sinus
trouble are very sensitive to
changes in temperature, drafts,
ETC., but so far as my experience
goes, these changes do not affect
the course Of the disease unfavor-
ably. There is no reason why a
person with sinus disease should
not wear hat and at the same
time there is no reason why he
should. Night air comes under the
subject Of changes in temperature
which ! have mentioned above as
being one Of the factors which
makes sinus patients uncomfort-
able. II person with sinus disease
closes the bedroom windows, that
will have no influence one way or
the other on the progress Of the
disease.