32 (96) Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine. 



8 (54). "Radium and some methods for its therapeutic appli- 

 cation," with demonstrations : HUGO LIEBER. (By invita- 

 tion.) 



Mr. Lieber gave an account of the discovery of radium by 

 Mme. and Professor Curie, and demonstrated many radioactive 

 phenomena. Special attention was drawn to recently discovered 

 facts bearing on radium emanation. For a time it was thought 

 that radium discharged directly (a) the so-called " emanations," 

 which had practically no penetrating power and which, like a gas, 

 were readily carried from one point to another by an air current ; 

 and (b) the so-called " rays " — alpha rays of very low penetrating 

 power, beta rays of considerably greater penetrating power, and 

 gamma rays of enormous penetrating power. Later investigations 

 have shown, however, that radium discharges primarily emanations 

 and alpha rays only. However, the emanations soon disintegrate, 

 and the disintegration products yield the beta rays and the gamma 

 rays. Consequently the powerful beta and gamma rays are the prod- 

 ucts of a decomposition product of radium. The proportions of the 

 radiations given off by a certain quantity of radium and its disin- 

 tegrated emanations are about 9 5 % alpha rays and about 5 % 

 combined beta and gamma rays. Because of their nearly negative 

 penetrative power, the alpha rays, as well as the emanations, are 

 practically unavailable for therapeutic purposes when the radium 

 is used in glass tubes or similar containers. Even the superficial 

 layers of a given radium preparation are relatively impervious to 

 both the emanations and the alpha rays proceeding from the un- 

 derlying portions of the preparation. Therefore, it is essential, 

 in order to obtain full radioactive effects, that (1) the given quantity 

 of radium should be spread so thin that, from the practical stand- 

 point, an upper layer would not exist and (2) should be held in a 

 container with walls that would be permeable both by the alpha 

 rays and by the emanations. 



Aschkinass, Dantzig, Caspari, Scholtz, Pfeiffer, Friedberger, 

 and others have shown that radium radiations exert beneficial 

 effects upon certain diseased tissues, as in sarcoma, lupus, car- 

 cinoma, etc. Marckwald states : " The radium rays have, besides 

 a dilating effect, an elective influence upon the cells of quickly- 

 growing tissues, as well also as bactericidal properties, three 



