The Ypsilanti daily press. (Ypsilanti, Mich.) 1928-1962, 1943-06-14

DR.. Clendening will answer
questions Of general interest
only, and then, only through
his column.
nosis which the physician uses.
The purpose Of this series Of arti-
Giles is TO try 10 explain what your
doctor is trying to get at in his
examination of you.
We stated that the most impor-
tant part of the diagnosis con-
sisted in the information obtained
by taking the history Of the illness
in the patients own words. Then
we discussed the physical exam
nation, which is the information
the doctor obtains by employing
his senses Of sight, feeling and
hearing in other words, the
changed appearance Of the pa
tient's skin is seen, the feeling Of
the pulse and the use of the steth-
oscope to listen to the chest, etc.
Most people, We believe, do not
appreciate how important these
two procedures are. We estimated
that the history contributes at
least so per cent to the final dag
nosis and the physical examination
By the physicians unaided senses,
% per cent, so that IS per cent Of
the diagnosis is made before any
laboratory procedure is intro
duced at all.
Laboratory Examinations
When one asks what are the
most important laboratory exam
nations which are used in dag
nosis, / believe most physicians
would agree that the routine ex-
animation of the urine and the
blood would be selected. 1t is well
over 100 years since Richard
Bright first found that in certain
cases of kidney disease the urine
would preGipitate a coagulable
substance when boiled.
Bright used a teaspoon and a
candle, whereas today we use a
test tube and a Bunsen burner.
The urine Is fluid which repre-
sents the eXcretion of many waste
products from the body. When /
was beginning practice, they used
to estimate many of these, such as
the urea and the uric acid. But
this has been found to be Of little
information.
One excretory product is sugar
which may be an overflow from
carbohydrate metabolism, which
indicates diabetes. Anyone over
Dandruf Treatment
In a recent article by Or.
CleudenniuE IL was stated that
benzine could he used for treat
ment OF dandruff. The article
should have read 'benzene" or
"benzoil' both products obtain
able at drug stores. Applica-
ton is by pledTets OF cotton
no oftener than at two week
intervals. followed Immediate
~ with sweet oil o. olive oil.
DR. Clendenning says that soap
and water are 10 be avoided ex-
Cept once a week when an
ointment containing salicylic
acid. ] part. ammoniated mere
ury, 2 parts and ointment, 80
parts, is rubbed in, left all
night and worked out with
warm water and green soap the
following morning
40 years Of age should have the
urine examined once a year in
order TO determine whether this
condition mas started or not, be-
cause it can be successfully con-
trolled if taken in time.
When the kidney or the bladder
is diseased, various cells, blood or
other products appear in the urine
and these indicate local disease
and they can be seen with the
microscope.
Examination of Blood
A routine examination of the
blood can be done very simply
merely by obtaining a drop Of
blood from the lobe Of the. ear, al
lowing it to absorb on soft paper
and comparing it TO a color scale
which shows how much hemoglo-
bin is present. The blood is impov-
erished by so many organic dis
eases that this gives a very good
indication as to whether condi-
tons have gone far enough TO be
serious or not.
Of course, If this test indicates
a low hemoglobin, the red cells
can be counted and should be 5
million on our standard. The
white cells Of the blood can also be
counted and indicate whether or
not the body is responding TO an
infection.
Another blood test that can be
done quickly and which indicates
whether the patient has an or
ganic or a functional disease is
the so-called sedimentation rate
test. In organic disease the blood
cells are heavy and settle to the
bottom Of the tube more rapidly
than normal. This is a yardstick
to determine whether or not the
patient is really sick.