Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1942-04-30
Medical Aid
For Defense
In 3 Parts
Civilian Division Needs
More Doctors
BY DIR. LOGAN CLENDENINa

i boards for civilian defense
seems to me to fall into three
categories.s
First: there is the supply Of
civilian physicians for the ordi-
nary normal needs of civilian
medical practice; second: there
are the two possibilities of an
emergency among civilians, one
due to an outbreak of an cpl
demic of infectious disease and
the other due to injuries from
bombing or a military attack.
The most pressing Of these
is the first.
Alt h Dug our complacency
has had a number Of jolts, the
possibility of bombing or mill
tary attack is still fairly remote,
but with as many as from 40 to
80 per cent of freshman medical
students being signed up for the
army or navy service, IL means
that for eight years the number
OF physicians who enter civilian
practice will be greatly reduced.
THIS will not be helped greatly
L even il the medical schools
increase their output.
The increased output will be
needed for military and naval
service. For some time, how.
ever, there probably will be nau
dislocation of normal medic
attendants, and the procuremehS
and assignment committees will
allow the population to use its
own family medical adviser as
much as possible.
IL we should have an emer-
gency, however, undoubtedly a
strict form Of regulation will
occur.
For instance, IL such a thing
as the influenza epidemic which
occurred In the last World War
should arise. ii would be waste
full for one physician in civilian,
practice to attend patients
whose homes were five or six
miles apart.
A city or county would have
to be divided up into regional
districts and a physician as
signed TO each district so that
he could make rounds as IL he
were in a large, spread-out hos
pital.
THE same thing will occur in
Il the event>of bombing, sabo-
tage or other military emer-
gencies.
or course, with the possibility
OF a real military emergency.
the work probably will be en-
tirely in the hands OF the Army
Medical Corps.
All these things can be ar
ranged very easily or planned
for some time In advance, but
simple as 1t seems. there Is a
notable dilatoriness about the
completion of arrangements.
In the first place, as in every
other department of public or
political life, we have entirely
too many agencies set up.
AS I write these words, The
situation in the Middle Western
cities is in completely disor-
gained condition.
1t isn't exactly that we ha(
chaos. but that we have not8s
ing whatever.
The possibility of an epidemic,
while much more likely than
that of bombing raids, is alss
quite remote.
We seem TO have been lucky
in that we have run into q
period in which all contagious
diseases are on the down grade.
There has been very little
contagious disease so far In the
army.
QUESTIONS, ANSWERS
T. R.-Could the partition in
the nose (septum) be removed
and if so, would it be dam
gerous?
Answer-This is one of tho
frequent surgical operations and
does not carry with ii any spe-
cial danger.
F. R.-Is inflammatory rheu.
matism the same as rheumatic
fever? Does swelling Of the
ankles indicate a weak heart?
Does infiammatory rheumatism
always damage the heart?
Answer--Infammatory rheu-
matism and acute rheumatic
fever are the same thing.
Swelling Of the ankles may be
caused by a great number OF
things that have nothing to do
with the heart such as, for in
stance, varicose veins. Infiam-
matory rheumatism does not al
ways damage the heart, but
does so in a very large number
Of cases.