290 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



unnatural regimen which disturbs all the vital functions of secretion, 

 excretion, digestion, circulation, respiration and nutrition. Even the 

 very anatomy of the bones themselves, both gross and fine, is markedly 

 affected. 



The fact that the school doctor has been called in to examine and 

 advise does not signify that the gravity of the situation has been appre- 

 hended. Teachers have simply found physical defects an impediment 

 to the pupil's school progress and desire their removal. The school 

 doctor spends some three to six minutes in the examination of each 

 pupil, looking only for the gross and external symptoms of defective- 

 ness. Having strictly the point of view of the physician, his search 

 is for disease. His training has not fitted him to scent out delicate, 

 incipient deviations from the normal nor to see the necessity of doing 

 so. He does not have a biological conception of the functions of child 

 hygiene. To appreciate the importance of the school health officer we 

 need only to enumerate some of the problems most in need of investi- 

 gation by men scientifically and specifically trained for the purpose. 

 The following are some of these questions — not one of which can be 

 satisfactorily answered in the light of our present information. 



What is the exact nature and extent of the effects of school life upon 

 the vital processes and upon growth ? What changes, for example, does 

 the child's blood undergo during the school year in number of red and 

 white corpuscles and in percentage of haemoglobin? What happens to 

 the blood during a well-spent summer vacation? How does the 

 sedentary work of the school affect the growth of the heart and its 

 muscular force? How common is malnutrition among school chil- 

 dren, and what are its causes ? To what extent is the school responsible 

 for the curse of constipation? What is the relation of book work to 

 lung capacity, and just how seriously does sub-normal lung capacity 

 menace the future health of the child ? 



What physiological changes are induced by the high temperature 

 and low humidity of ordinary school-room air? Is it true, as recent 

 experiments suggest, that the goal for which the mechanical engineer 

 strives in the ventilation and heating of a school building, that is, the 

 maintenance of an absolutely even temperature and the avoidance of 

 perceptible draft, is the worst possible condition that could be secured? 

 Is it true that keeping the relative humidity of the schoolroom air up 

 to 50 or 60 per cent., the temperature down to 60 degrees or below, 

 and permitting perceptible drafts which will keep the skin practised 

 in the exercise of vaso-motor control should be matters of far more 

 concern than avoiding the usual slight depletion of oxygen or the excess 

 of carbon dioxide ? Is respired air poisonous ? If so, by virtue of what 

 properties ? 



What are the special characteristics of school dust? Which kinds 

 are most injurious? What part does dust play in the dissemination of 



