TECHNOLOGY AND MEDICINE—LION 407 
in this field has recently been so successful, however, that its results” 
can now be used for medical applications. The development of ultra- 
high-frequency equipment during the war will enable us to use electro- 
magnetic waves medically in the range between very short radio waves 
and infrared waves. Theoretical considerations and actual measure- 
ments made on short-wave radiation fields show that, at least to some 
extent, it is certainly feasible to localize the effects of electromagnetic 
waves to certain regions inside the body by focusing the waves on the 
desired area or organ. 
Unlike direct-current or low-frequency electric impulses, high-fre- 
quency voltages and currents do not produce electric shocks. At 
radio frequencies, several amperes can be sent through the body 
without any sensation other than that of heat. But also direct current, 
direct-current pulses, and low frequencies are used in medicine. Re- 
cent research in shock therapy and also in the promising field of electro- 
narcosis demonstrates the possibility of using electrical power of low 
frequency and various wave forms for specific purposes. 
Among the great number of physical agents which are actually or 
potentially important in medicine, that of climatological environment 
is very interesting but may be rather problematic in its influence. 
Different authors report that some diseases, like arthritis and rheuma- 
tism, and certain psychological and physiological conditions depend 
upon the weather. Many people are affected by a change of atmos- 
pheric conditions, as, for instance, the arrival of a thunderstorm or a 
snowstorm, and such effects can be very pronounced, depending upon 
the geographic location. Since temperature, humidity, and barometric 
pressure do not appear to be involved in this effect, it has been claimed 
that the electrical condition of the atmosphere is the important factor. 
Russian workers report interesting progress in this field, but it seems 
that additional research is needed to reach definite conclusions. Medi- 
cally important discoveries may result from further work in this 
field. 
It has been said that physical therapy is a purely psychological 
treatment. Considering the decisive importance of psychology in 
medicine, no other statement could be of higher praise to physical 
therapy. The important question is only whether the effect of treat- 
ment with physical agents acts first in the imagination of the patient 
and from there acts upon his body or whether a physical or chemical 
change in the organism can be proven to be a direct consequence of 
the physical agent. We know today that both effects exist, but we 
do not know enough about the individual factors and how they inter- 
act. Fortunately, the physical and biophysical part of this compli- 
cated process is accessible to experimentation and exact measurement, 
and we may expect much progress from research in this field. 
