320 SURGERY 



ployed at the present time for therapeutic purposes. When this dis- 

 covery is applied to surgery, the field of usefulness of light as a 

 remedial agent will be greatly enhanced, and without doubt many 

 new diseases will be relieved that the present Finsen light fails to 

 cure. The results of treatment of lupus by the Finsen light are 

 interesting. In 456 cases in which the treatment had been com- 

 pleted at the end of 1900, no fewer than 130 are known to be free 

 from recurrence for from one to five years. In the rest of the cases 

 the period of cure is too short to establish any reliable data. In 44 

 cases of lupus erythematosus, 14 were reported cured and 15 improved. 

 In 49 cases of alopecia areata, 30 were reported cured. In 24 cases 

 of rodent ulcer and cancroid, with 11 favorable results. In 25 cases 

 of acne vulgaris, 13 were cured. These statements give an approxi- 

 mate idea of what has been accomplished in a short time by Finsen 

 light, and, without doubt, improvement in the technic will result in 

 even a greater number of percentages of cure. 



Radium is a new element which was discovered in 1899 by Madame 

 and M. Curie. The term "radium" is derived from the Latin word 

 radius, meaning a ray. At the present time there is great interest 

 in the question of the therapeutic use of this metal, but sufficient 

 time has not elapsed to determine its value. 



Radium is a new therapeutic agent which has recently been used 

 in surgery, and furnishes a new illustration of the development of the 

 science. Radium as a therapeutic possibility is little understood, 

 but about which much has been written. The public press has been 

 flooded with sensational articles about radium, while the medical 

 press has been conspicuous for the meager accounts of its thera- 

 peutic uses. 



The action of radium depends upon its "spontaneous source of 

 energy" upon living tissues. The action of radium upon the tissues 

 is very similar to the Rontgen rays, and its use is indicated in those 

 cases in which the Rontgen ray is applicable. Radium as a thera- 

 peutic agent depends upon its radiations, which are of three kinds, 

 and have been designated by the terms Alpha rays, Beta rays, and 

 Gamma rays. The Alpha rays consist of a current of electric charge 

 that contains an amount of energy far greater than the Beta rays or 

 the Gamma rays. The velocity of the Alpha rays is said to be 20,000 

 miles per second. Ninety-nine per cent of the energy of radium is 

 in the Alpha rays. The Beta rays consist of a negatively charged 

 stream of particles very similar to the cathode. The Gamma rays 

 travel with tremendous velocity and are similar to the Rontgen ray 

 from a hard tube. The Alpha rays have very slight actinic properties, 

 while the Beta and Rontgen rays are highly actinic, and are therefore 

 the rays used in therapeutics. Beta rays do not penetrate the tissues 

 deeper than half an inch, while the Rontgen rays from the pure 



