Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1942-06-25
DETROIT TIMES FEATURE PAGE
u. S. Medical
Science Busy
On War Aid
Brilliant Discoverie
Made in Aviation
By DIR. LOGAN CLENDENING

BY DIR. LOGAN CLENDENING
I HAVE just been talking with
an American psychologist who
has made many brilliant dis
coveries in the field of aviation
medicine.
He tells me OF some research
work that Is now going on which
may be of decided benefit in
conditioning aviators to high
attitudes
OF course. a great many de-
vices already have been tested
out which have helped aviators
to endure high attitudes for a
long time; but the whole prob
lem has not by any means been
solved for 100 per cent OF avia-
tors
One of the factors in the situa-
ton seems to be that il the
adrenal glands can be kept ac-
tive, the endurance of aviators
at high attitudes will be con-
siderably increased.
Animal experiments have
shown that the adrenal glands
can be stimulated and by using
this stimulant animals can be
kept in a rarefied atmosphere
for a much longer time than has
been believed possible.
T AM not at liberty to divulge
L the me I hod used. which
comes under the heading Of
military secret, but the man to
whom I spoke is a conservative
research worker and seemed to
feel that this was one of the
great steps in aviation in this
field.
Another field of medical char
acter in which advances are be-
ing made is on the different
types OF goggles and spectacles
used by the armed forces in
various forms of combat.
This also is a military secret
but is sufficiently important
that high officials regard it as
one of the great Improvements
in army equipment of the last
few months.
Another war item has 10 do
with the serious shortage of
surgical gauze, bandages and
other first aid materials.
DR.. George Baehr, chief OF the
Office of Civilian Defense Medi-
cal Division. says:
This unlimited purchasing OF
first-aid materials Is based upon
a wrong conception of air raid
casualties.
These casualties are usually
Of such severity that only
trained emergency medical field
units are competent to attend
the injured ut the site OF an ac-
cident."
ENGLAND'S experience re-
II vealed that bomb casualties
were relatively few in proper
ton to the amount of property
damage, but a large percentage
of the victims died within short
time after the injury unless they
received surgical attention from
trained field units headed by
physicians.
Inasmuch as the program OF
the Office of Civilian Defense, as
il affects hospitals, makes ample
provision for emergency medical
field units and ambulance facili-
ties, the present drain on first
aid materials is not only useless
but genuinely hazardous.
AS an illustration of what Is
happening, Doctor Baehr stated
that one OF our cities purchased
$4,000 first aid kits for its school
teachers. and that every war
den's post. every apartment
building and every floor of every
municipal and other government
building was being equipped with
first aid supplies.
JAMES M. Lambs, director
- of the Office of Civilian
Defense, adds:
THE rapidly increasing vast
age Of gauze bandages and other
first Aid materials Is reaching
alarming proportions which may
threaten the supplies available
for the military forces and
civilian defense needs"
Air raid wardens will not be
expec to care for the
wounded in"the event of an air
raid, but because of the present
misunderstanding, tens Of thou
sands of them are stocking up
on first aid materials and are
urging every one in their zones
TO do so.
Most households are merely
duplicating the materials already
in their medical cabinets.
QUESTIONS, ANSWERS
C. M. E.-Are active thyroid
and active goiter the same
thing and il not, what are the