310 SURGERY 



War there was only one medical book, three reprints, and about 

 20 pamphlets by American authors, while to-day there is on the 

 average one new book for each working day in the year, 300 jour- 

 nals, and 5000 original journal articles. American writers are pub- 

 lishing annually at least 500 medical volumes, to say nothing of 

 the issuance of nearly 10,000 journal articles each year. In the 

 department of surgery alone, during the two years of 1879-1880, 

 there were written in America no less than 45 surgical books of im- 

 portance and value, together with 1717 journal articles beside, 

 and from this record of nearly a quarter of a century ago some 

 idea can be gained of what surgical literature has accomplished 

 at the present time. 



That the foundation of medical libraries has had much to do 

 with the progress of surgery becomes manifest when it is con- 

 sidered that a hundred years ago there were in this country only 

 about 250 medical volumes, all told, while to-day there are nearly 

 160,000 volumes in the libraries of medical colleges alone, to say 

 nothing of the large and general medical libraries throughout the 

 country, without mentioning the thousands and thousands of vol- 

 umes in the medical libraries in Europe. 



That modern hospitals have had much to do with the advance 

 of surgery is apparent when it is remembered that there were 

 scarcely any hospitals a hundred years ago, while to-day they 

 crowd nearly every city and town. This statement is emphasized 

 by the fact that in New York and in Philadelphia there are four 

 free beds to every 1000 of their respective populations; and by 

 the further fact that any American city without adequate hospital 

 accommodations is looked upon as in disgrace and behind the age; 

 and, further, that the 433 hospitals in this country which main- 

 tain training-schools for nurses exceed in value $73,000,000, and 

 their endowments exceed $18,000,000. These figures represent 

 less than a fourth of hospital wealth, since many of the hospitals 

 maintain no training-schools. 



That the establishment of scientific laboratories has been a potent 

 factor in surgical progress is proved by the fact that millions of 

 dollars have been recently devoted to this purpose, and the work 

 performed in these laboratories has had a tremendous influence 

 upon the world. To Andrew Carnegie is due the credit of build- 

 ing the first purely scientific laboratory for medical and surgical 

 research in this country; and from his example other like labora- 

 tories have been established in the land, until now America eclipses 

 the world in the wealth and magnificence of its scientific institu- 

 tions. The Laboratory of Hygiene in Philadelphia and the Caro- 

 line Brewer Croft Fund for the study of cancer at Harvard Uni- 

 versity are worthy of mention. Many well-equipped laboratories 



