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COMPILATION OF HUMAN PEDIGREES.
975
CONTACT GLASSES.-HEALTH OF THE ROYAL AIR FORCE.
COMPILATION OF HUMAN PEDIGREES. Now that human genetics is entering the sphere .of preventive medicine, it is likely that the practitioner - will be increasingly consulted on questions of genetic prognosis. For this reason, if for no other, it is highly desirable to have some uniformity in the recording of human pedigrees. The Eugenics Society has,recently produced a schedule’ designed for the use of medical men who are consulted upon such problems. When a patient asks a doctor for guidance - about the advisability of marrying into a particular strain, or about the risks of transmitting a familial disease or defect to children, the doctor’s first wish will be to scrutinise as full a pedigree as can be prepared of the two parties contemplating marriage The compilation of such a pedigree or parenthood. is always a laborious and time-consuming process which the patient should himself undertake provided that he has the necessary intelligence. The Society’s ;schedule is designed for such as these. It contains full instructions about the particular symbolism and method of recording kinship which should be employed and a blank chart on ruled paper on which the pedigree should be plotted. Six blank pages are provided for the record of comments, either upon affected individuals shown in the pedigree, or upon the pedigree as a whole, or upon any of its component strains. A pedigree illustrating the inheritance of .senile cataract is given as a specimen. Though this .schedule will be of little value in the case of defectives or low-grade families, the members of which will not be able to understand the instructions, it may well prove useful to practitioners, who are consulted on genetic questions, in those categories of disease which are generally recognised as hereditary. The .schedule is the only thing of the kind which exists in this country. Those interested in the study of human heredity who, for the benefit of their children, wish to prepare a permanent record of their own .ancestry, can obtain a more comprehensive schedule. CONTACT GLASSES, IN the current number of the British Journal of ()phthalmology Mr. A. Rugg-Gunn returns to a - consideration of the contact glasses, which excited lively interest in the summer at the Oxford Ophthalmological Congress. While no claim of general .applicability is made for the new device, it is evidently useful for exceptional cases. Since a contact glass, or rather the fluid meniscus that it encloses, neutralises .all corneal astigmatism, their most obvious use is in cases of conical cornea and irregular astigmatism due to past corneal disease, cases in which improvement by ordinary glasses is often very trifling. For cosmetic reasons they may have a place on the stage. And by permitting a full range of movement of the eyes they should be useful in certain forms of sport .such as tennis. Mr. Rugg-Gunn claims, too, that they are of definite advantage in cases of anisometropia by securing uniformity of size in the retinal images-an end which is sometimes so difficult to attain by ordinary methods that the attempt to obtain binocular vision may have to be given up as impossible. Even with monocular vision, and still more with binocular, a contact glass is superior to a spectacle lens in giving a better appreciation of perspective. These points are made good in the article by elaborate optical formulae and charts derived from the publications of Dr. H. Hartinger. 1 How to prepare a family pedigree. Issued by the Eugenics Society, 20, Grosvenor-gardens, London, S.W.1. 6d.
On the other hand, it must not be supposed that the contact glasses is a simple matter. technical excellence now obtained in their manufacture, the surgeon has to give much time, care, and thought to obtain an exact fit of the scleral brim. The fitting is, in Mr. Rugg-Gunn’s words, not so much an optical as an orthopaedic problem. The length of time during which such a glass can be worn without discomfort varies. Some persons cannot tolerate them at all. Others find about three hours the limit. Others, again, wear them all day, and only remove them at night. Their cost is necessarily considerable.
prescription of In spite of the
HEALTH OF THE ROYAL AIR FORCE. THE report on the health of the Royal Air Force for the year 19301shows a marked decrease of sickness compared with the previous year. The decrease amounts to 53 per 1000 of strength for cases admitted to hospital or station sick quarters, and to 116 per 1000 for all cases of medical non-effectiveness. The rate of invaliding home from abroad is the lowest on record-viz., 12-8 per 1000, and the final invaliding-rate is considerably lower than in previous years. The death-rate, on the other hand, is a little higher-viz., 4-2 per 1000, whereas it was 3-4 per 1000 in 1929, and the incidence of venereal disease has risen from 15 to 16-1per 1000. The report gives a number of tables analysing the various conditions which accounted for sickness in the force. Excluding tuberculosis, disease of the digestive system is responsible for the greatest percentage of deaths, and is followed by pneumonia ; while invaliding is chiefly due to diseases of the nervous system, with tuberculosis coming second. Flying units show the lowest amount of disease and the highest death incidence, as would be expected ; and aircraft apprentices show the highest disability incidence, but they have had a very much lower incidence of upper air-passage infection and influenza in the last 12 months. The principal causes of medical non-effectiveness in all groups were, in order : injuries, gonorrhoea, tonsillitis, appendicitis, malaria, and upper air-passage infections. An important part of the work of the R.A.F. medical service is the examination of candidates for commissions, who have to reach a very high standard of physical efficiency if they are to be accepted for the flying arm. During the year under review, 685 candidates were examined, and 432 (or 63 per cent.) were accepted. Defective vision continues to be the most frequent cause of objection, followed by failure to pass the physical efficiency test. The electrocardiograph and orthodiagraph have continued to be valuable accessories in the assessment of cardiovascular efficiency, and a series of observations on the effects of oxygen in the performance of mental and physical tasks has been made in the low-pressure chamber. The results of these observations will be published in due course and should prove of great interest. Of the 2793 candidates for enlistment, 40 per cent. were accepted as fit ; the commonest causes of rejection were loss or decay of teeth, poor physique, deformities of the feet, diseases of the heart, and defects of vision, in that order. A dental branch formed in July, 1930, at present consists of 27 officers and 40 other ranks. There has been a marked improvement in oral hygiene throughout the service and a greater inclination to apply voluntarily for examination. A dental radiological department has recently been established at Uxbridge. The average 1 H.M. Stationery Office.
Pp. 59.
1s. 4d.
CONTACT GLASSES.-HEALTH OF THE ROYAL AIR FORCE.
COMPILATION OF HUMAN PEDIGREES. Now that human genetics is entering the sphere .of preventive medicine, it is likely that the practitioner - will be increasingly consulted on questions of genetic prognosis. For this reason, if for no other, it is highly desirable to have some uniformity in the recording of human pedigrees. The Eugenics Society has,recently produced a schedule’ designed for the use of medical men who are consulted upon such problems. When a patient asks a doctor for guidance - about the advisability of marrying into a particular strain, or about the risks of transmitting a familial disease or defect to children, the doctor’s first wish will be to scrutinise as full a pedigree as can be prepared of the two parties contemplating marriage The compilation of such a pedigree or parenthood. is always a laborious and time-consuming process which the patient should himself undertake provided that he has the necessary intelligence. The Society’s ;schedule is designed for such as these. It contains full instructions about the particular symbolism and method of recording kinship which should be employed and a blank chart on ruled paper on which the pedigree should be plotted. Six blank pages are provided for the record of comments, either upon affected individuals shown in the pedigree, or upon the pedigree as a whole, or upon any of its component strains. A pedigree illustrating the inheritance of .senile cataract is given as a specimen. Though this .schedule will be of little value in the case of defectives or low-grade families, the members of which will not be able to understand the instructions, it may well prove useful to practitioners, who are consulted on genetic questions, in those categories of disease which are generally recognised as hereditary. The .schedule is the only thing of the kind which exists in this country. Those interested in the study of human heredity who, for the benefit of their children, wish to prepare a permanent record of their own .ancestry, can obtain a more comprehensive schedule. CONTACT GLASSES, IN the current number of the British Journal of ()phthalmology Mr. A. Rugg-Gunn returns to a - consideration of the contact glasses, which excited lively interest in the summer at the Oxford Ophthalmological Congress. While no claim of general .applicability is made for the new device, it is evidently useful for exceptional cases. Since a contact glass, or rather the fluid meniscus that it encloses, neutralises .all corneal astigmatism, their most obvious use is in cases of conical cornea and irregular astigmatism due to past corneal disease, cases in which improvement by ordinary glasses is often very trifling. For cosmetic reasons they may have a place on the stage. And by permitting a full range of movement of the eyes they should be useful in certain forms of sport .such as tennis. Mr. Rugg-Gunn claims, too, that they are of definite advantage in cases of anisometropia by securing uniformity of size in the retinal images-an end which is sometimes so difficult to attain by ordinary methods that the attempt to obtain binocular vision may have to be given up as impossible. Even with monocular vision, and still more with binocular, a contact glass is superior to a spectacle lens in giving a better appreciation of perspective. These points are made good in the article by elaborate optical formulae and charts derived from the publications of Dr. H. Hartinger. 1 How to prepare a family pedigree. Issued by the Eugenics Society, 20, Grosvenor-gardens, London, S.W.1. 6d.
On the other hand, it must not be supposed that the contact glasses is a simple matter. technical excellence now obtained in their manufacture, the surgeon has to give much time, care, and thought to obtain an exact fit of the scleral brim. The fitting is, in Mr. Rugg-Gunn’s words, not so much an optical as an orthopaedic problem. The length of time during which such a glass can be worn without discomfort varies. Some persons cannot tolerate them at all. Others find about three hours the limit. Others, again, wear them all day, and only remove them at night. Their cost is necessarily considerable.
prescription of In spite of the
HEALTH OF THE ROYAL AIR FORCE. THE report on the health of the Royal Air Force for the year 19301shows a marked decrease of sickness compared with the previous year. The decrease amounts to 53 per 1000 of strength for cases admitted to hospital or station sick quarters, and to 116 per 1000 for all cases of medical non-effectiveness. The rate of invaliding home from abroad is the lowest on record-viz., 12-8 per 1000, and the final invaliding-rate is considerably lower than in previous years. The death-rate, on the other hand, is a little higher-viz., 4-2 per 1000, whereas it was 3-4 per 1000 in 1929, and the incidence of venereal disease has risen from 15 to 16-1per 1000. The report gives a number of tables analysing the various conditions which accounted for sickness in the force. Excluding tuberculosis, disease of the digestive system is responsible for the greatest percentage of deaths, and is followed by pneumonia ; while invaliding is chiefly due to diseases of the nervous system, with tuberculosis coming second. Flying units show the lowest amount of disease and the highest death incidence, as would be expected ; and aircraft apprentices show the highest disability incidence, but they have had a very much lower incidence of upper air-passage infection and influenza in the last 12 months. The principal causes of medical non-effectiveness in all groups were, in order : injuries, gonorrhoea, tonsillitis, appendicitis, malaria, and upper air-passage infections. An important part of the work of the R.A.F. medical service is the examination of candidates for commissions, who have to reach a very high standard of physical efficiency if they are to be accepted for the flying arm. During the year under review, 685 candidates were examined, and 432 (or 63 per cent.) were accepted. Defective vision continues to be the most frequent cause of objection, followed by failure to pass the physical efficiency test. The electrocardiograph and orthodiagraph have continued to be valuable accessories in the assessment of cardiovascular efficiency, and a series of observations on the effects of oxygen in the performance of mental and physical tasks has been made in the low-pressure chamber. The results of these observations will be published in due course and should prove of great interest. Of the 2793 candidates for enlistment, 40 per cent. were accepted as fit ; the commonest causes of rejection were loss or decay of teeth, poor physique, deformities of the feet, diseases of the heart, and defects of vision, in that order. A dental branch formed in July, 1930, at present consists of 27 officers and 40 other ranks. There has been a marked improvement in oral hygiene throughout the service and a greater inclination to apply voluntarily for examination. A dental radiological department has recently been established at Uxbridge. The average 1 H.M. Stationery Office.
Pp. 59.
1s. 4d.