THE FRONTIERS OF MEDICINE 



a carbuncle, and finally, perhaps, "blood poison." It may 

 begin by a mere scratch from a pin or needle, into which 

 the germs enter. Not infrequently it begins through cutting 

 a corn with a badly cleaned knife or razor blade. When 

 the body fails to develop resistance and to throw off the 

 germs, they multiply rapidly and the sickness is severe. 

 The pulse becomes rapid, the face becomes pale; not in- 

 frequently great spots of hemorrhage appear under the 

 skin. Death may occur in twenty-four hours or may be 

 delayed several weeks. 



Thus far the chief method known for controlling such 

 conditions is to release as much pus as possible at the point 

 from which the infection started. Unfortunately, in some 

 conditions the infection is deep in the body and cannot be 

 reached. In other conditions, it is a blood infection from 

 the first. What is badly needed from the point of view of 

 medical research is some chemical substance or some prepa- 

 ration that can be injected into the blood or underneath 

 the skin or put into the body in some other way, which will 

 overcome the infection directly and thus prevent the death 

 of the patient. It is, of course, possible by modern methods 

 of treatment to remove the localized spot of infection, or to 

 use non-specific serums or vaccines in the hope of stimu- 

 lating resistance or perhaps of striking accidentally the 

 germ that is responsible. This procedure is not, however, 

 in any sense of the word, certain or scientific. The main 

 treatment of modern medicine is to give small amounts of 

 water and nourishment, to see to it that all of the patient's 

 organs operate at their best efficiency, to control the fever 

 by baths, and to secure rest for the patient by the use of 

 proper sedatives. 



Calcium Metabolism. The human body is made of many 

 ingredients which are of varying proportions. The chief 

 ingredients are carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen. 

 These can be found to the extent of 38 liters of water, 20 



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