The daily monitor leader. [volume] (Mount Clemens, Mich.) 1942-19??, 1943-01-29

with rank and
good pay. Each one, though he was
alrea dy an efficient physician
trained in medicine and surgery.
has been sent to a training school
for special instruction In military
medicine and surgery.
Some have been placed In special
branches, but all have had a gen.
eral "refresher" course in his mill
tary and medical knowledge and in
the use of all of our new methods
of care for the sick and wounded.
The number Of physicians In our
army is great. Various estimates
range from one physician for every
100 to 800 men in service.
Special Contingents
In addition to these. special con-
tingentS are selected from each
branch Of the army and assigned
to the m edical department.
Trained nurses. trained ambulance
CORPS units, are among these con-
tingents. No longer are just certain
men Of q company assigned as
medical assistants. They compose
an integral branch of their own.
The Red Cross supplies great
n u m bers OF assistants to this
branch. Moreover. every soldier re-
ceives training in First Aid to the
wounded and knows how to care
for his comrades in an emergency.
Under almost any circumstances.
trained aid is at hand. Moreover.
each man as he is indicted into the
army. receives q number OF i'm
munizing injections against dis
ease and infection for which we
have protection.
TetanuS, one OF the greatest
scourgeS Of army wounds, Is almost
unknown in this war due to these
injections. In the last war many
injuries ended fatally from loss of
blood and sepsis. because OF the
delay in obtaining blood transfu-
sions. Now. blood plasma has been
developed. The Red Cross has OBJ
tanned millions Of pints OF blood
from civilians and soldiers from
which the red and white corpuScleS
have been removed, as well as the
fluid portion. Thus q pint OF blood
is reduced to q very small amount.
This has many advantages over
TRANSMISSION of whole blood. It can
be preserved indefinitely under any
climatic condition. With transfu-
sion of whole blood, only blood Of
the same type could be used. With
the corpuscles removed as in pre-
pairing the plasma, all that is done
away with.
Supply for Every Unit
A bottle Of plasma Is furnished
In q small package and carried by
every medical unit and sometimes
by the soldiers themselves. 1t needs
only to be diluted by a specified
amount Of distilled water. and with
q little training. anyone can inject
It in q few minutes. All things
needed for use are contained in
this one package. Every group Of
soldiers. Marines, airmen and SAL
lorS everywhere now carries an
abundant supply and thousands Of
lives will thus be saved.
AS ! have mentioned, we top the
list of protective measures with
sulfanilamide. whose phenomenal
success in treating certain infec-
tious diseases has provided us with
q powerful and successful weapon
not only against dread pneumonia.
but also the streptococcic sore
Threats, spinal meningitis and gen.
eral blood poisoning. In former
wars these diseases have taken
more lives than bullets or shells.
Pneumococcic serum for the cure
Of pneumonia Is provided in abun-
dance. The various sulfa prepara-
tons are In every medical kit and
no delay In their use is necessary.
The death rate from these diseases
has decreased from IS or 80 per
cent to 5 or 6 per cent.
This treatment. and many 9TH
efs. does not require elaborate
preparation or a com p lie tely
equipped hospital. Thousands upon
Thousands Of well trained nurses
accompany the army wherever it
goes. to supplement the program of
professional knowledge and skill by
the all-necessary services Of good
s1ssv~tnO