Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 50.djvu/682

662 but the early expectations were exaggerated. Methods of making examinations by these means have been so far simplified as to require no highly specialized knowledge for this purpose, and one would expect that hospitals, at all events, would be provided with an X-ray outfit if there is any advantage in it. Replies from a large number of prominent hospitals in six of the leading cities of America, which were asked concerning their employment of the X rays, showed that, of those replying, one third have such outfits; about one fifth have none, but expect to have one soon; and nearly half of those without such equipment have had examinations made for them. All that have used the rays testify to



their helpfulness, some of the physicians being enthusiastic over the method. Enough is told to show that the X ray is already an important aid to diagnosis, and, unless the future experience of the hospitals should be quite disappointing, such apparatus will soon be thought an indispensable feature of their equipment. The interior of the trunk, as well as of the limbs, has been successfully shown, the fluoroscopic revelation being immediate, while for photographic reproduction exposures of varying lengths of time are needed. The hand is the easiest member, requiring from five to thirty seconds, while the trunk requires half an hour or more. In general, it may be said that for pictures showing distinctions of structure, the time now required is from one hundredth to one fiftieth of that necessary at first. Pictures thus taken are being supplied to schools for the use of classes in anatomy and physiology.