250 MEDICINE 



about the chemistry of living tissues generally. 

 On these lines the more esoteric aspects of human 

 nutrition are coming to light, and with knowledge 

 of these we gain insight into the meaning of 

 efficiency, and understand better how to secure 

 the future health of infants and growing children. 

 The new science of experimental pathology, in 

 so far as it is not bacteriology, is based on the 

 application of the methods of physiology to the 

 study of diseased states. It is replacing the 

 purely anatomical studies of the older pathologists 

 and is welding physiology and practical medicine 

 together. Experimental Psychology, again, is a 

 growing science, with real accomplishment behind 

 it, and of profound importance to our understand- 

 ing of mental disease. 



The influence of experimental research upon our 

 power of treating disease forms the subject of a 

 special article, but a few words may be added here. 

 We have already seen that the medication of the 

 middle ages, the heritage of a belief in magic, 

 died very hard. Though empiricism could boast 

 of isolated successes such as that already men- 

 tioned, the discovery and use of quinine there 

 was little of rationality in the use of drugs until 

 quite late in the history of medicine. The leading 

 and more enlightened physicians of the last century, 

 in reaction from the irrational, used but few drugs 

 and used them sparingly. Then, as a branch from 

 general physiology, arose the new science of pharma- 



