SEPTEMBER 27, 1918] 
which the demobilization of medical men may 
best be carried out is being carefully studied 
by the British Medical Association. They 
will no doubt be released gradually as the 
other branches of the army are demobilized, 
but many will be eager to return to civil life, 
and in any estimate of the numbers of the 
medical profession in this generation regard 
must be had to the fact that during the last 
three years practically all newly qualified prac- 
titioners have been taken into the army. 
Within some not very long time after the con- 
elusion of war many of them will be liberated 
to return to civil life, and will naturally and 
properly have the first claim upon the public 
and upon pubic authorities. 
Another feature of the last four years has 
been the great increase in the number of 
women going in for the study of medicine. 
In May last there were 2,250 women medical 
students in the United Kingdom—a figure 23 
per cent. greater than the total for January, 
1917, and several times larger than in 1914. 
For this remarkable growth the war must be 
held mainly responsible. As for the pro- 
fessional instruction of these large numbers 
of students, men and women alike, there can 
be no doubt that the war by diverting the 
activities of many of their teachers into other 
channels or other spheres has considerably de- 
pleted the staffs of the medical schools as well 
as of other educational institutions in which 
the preliminary subjects and various branches 
of medical science are taught. Nevertheless, 
the teachers who continue at their posts are 
making every effort to maintain the standard 
of instruction, in spite of war-time difficulties. 
What will be the prospects of the medical 
profession when ‘the war is over? The med- 
ical services have acquitted themselves ex- 
tremely well in the war, and medical science 
will come out of it with an enhanced reputa- 
tion. Military medicine and surgery have ad- 
vanced, and not a few of the results of prac- 
tise and research in the war zones will re- 
main as permanent additions to knowledge. 
The treatment of wounds has steadily im- 
proved, orthopedic treatment for the crippled 
and maimed is more successful than ever; 
preventive medicine in camp and trenches has 
SCIENCE 
321 
scored great triumphs; the work of the patho- 
logical laboratory and of the bacteriologist has 
proved to be of the utmost value. In civil 
life the spirit of the times is all in favor of 
extension and coordination of the public health 
services. This is reflected in the widely-sup- 
ported proposal for the setting up of a Min- 
istry of Health, which has received fresh im- 
petus during the past few months. The Min- 
ister of Reconstruction, according to rumor, 
has had a draft bill in his pocket since the 
beginning of the year, but it does not appear 
to have won the approval of the Committee of 
the Cabinet on Home Affairs. The possibili- 
ties of the future are large, but as yet ill 
defined. More medical care has been provided 
for expectant mothers, for infants, for chil- 
dren, and for the victims of venereal diseases; 
a great increase in the public work of patho- 
logical laboratories all over the kingdom may 
be confidently expected. All this means an 
increase in the official medical services. What 
ultimate fate is in store for the private prac- 
titioner we will not venture to foretell. Be- 
fore the war, as we have pointed out above, his 
position had been profoundly affected by the 
Insurance scheme which converted the major- 
ity of general practitioners into part-time 
civil servants and subjected them to the dis- 
cipline of Insurance Commissioners. Pecu- 
niarily it has benefited some and impoverished 
others. One thing at least can be said: the 
immediate future is full of uncertainty, espe- 
cially for the general practitioner. Forces 
which had long been at work beneath the sur- 
face have gained strength through the cireum- 
stances of war and many believe that the state 
will gradually tighten its grip on the medical 
profession. 
Every doctor should possess a strong sense 
of esprit de corps. Medicine is a profession 
which, when it comes to business dealings of 
any sort, the general public—as also public 
authorities—persistently regard as being of a 
semi-philanthropic character. Furthermore, it 
is a profession whose aims and requirements 
are very ill understood by persons who have 
not undergone a medical education. Hence 
the interests of the medical profession, both on 
its financial and scientific sides, are continu- 
