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THE ROYAL MILITARY TOURNAMENT.
THE ROYAL MILITARY TOURNAMENT.
1457
but also in the examination. The latter schemeand collectively. So do the Marine recruits, but it is disus to be retrograde, for day by day it becomes1tinctly noticeable that some of them are working at the clearer that a thorough knowledge of the surgical branch highest possible strain. It speaks well both for officers and for men that such remarkable results should have cannot be acquired without a comprehension of the prinbeen accomplished in so short a period as 45 days, ciples and practice of medicine as a whole. If the prac- but there must be always some risk in a too strenuous tice of surgery were confined to operations then perhaps the and hasty endeavour to bnild up muscle. It remains to position assumed by the constructors of the minority scheme be seen what the effect will be when, after completing for the granting of dental degrees in the University of their course, the men relax their training, for it must London might be intelligible, but surgery is not a higher be remembered that over-taxation of the vascular system produce untoward results at a subsequent time. A grade of cabinet-making. Surgery entails for its scientific may curtailment of the period of training may, therefore, practice a thorough knowledge of the principles underlying in the end be a means of loss instead of gain to the Dental surgery may be regarded from service. medicine as a whole. Another noteworthy example of strength and the same standpoint. In some quarters it has been, ability is the display by the Royal Marine Artillery. exactly and still is, the tendency to estimate the practice of The general idea of this display is to show how a gun with landed from a man-of-war can be transported dentistry as something requiring simply manipulative its mountings and mounted in an extemporised manner on shore. The gun, dexterity, but this view has arisen partly from a want of mounting, and stores, together with the wagon on which they knowledge of the processes underlying dental disease are placed, weigh six tons and are drawn into the arena by and not a little from that narrowed vision which the 38 men. The slinging and unslinging of the gun on the extraining of the dental surgeon produces and which can temporised gin require some skill and precision in placing only be made broader by raising the standard of general the gun centrally. When the men begin this kind of trainand scientific education. With the increased number ing the weights with which they have to deal tax their to the utmost. At the Tournament, however, the of medical men specially qualified as dental surgeons strength gun is manipulated with as much ease as if it were a toy. a marked advance in dental pathology has taken Altogether this is a truly remarkable performance. In this and of the dental lesions, more connexion it would not be fair to leave unnoticed the display place inter-dependence especially of the gums and periodontal membrane, and by seamen of His Majesty’s ship Excellent with 12-pounder general systemic conditions has been shown. The dental guns. The way in which these guns are manoeuvred, mounted and dismounted, and lifted with ease over an surgeon in his practice is constantly dealing with cases obstacle representing a wall must be seen to be appreciated. which require for their rational treatment a knowledge of These three items in the programme alone form an objectmedicine, a fact which the authors of the minority report lesson which it would be well for everyone to see. do not appreciate, in our opinion, in its right significance. They would not, we are sure, consider that such well-defined INSURANCE AGAINST APPENDICITIS. branches of medical practice as, say, ophthalmic surgery THE sudden increase in the popular knowledge of or gynascology, should be practised by men with only a scant appendicitis has given rise to the idea that the malady knowledge of general medicine and surgery. To our think- occurs more with the than is the
required seems
to
frequently
ing, dental surgery should rank with the other special branches ; at any rate, all who practise dental surgery should be found wishing this, for only in this way can the scientific status of dentistry be maintained.
Annotations. ..
THE
ROYAL
Ne
"
quid nimis."
MILITARY TOURNAMENT.
FROM a practical point of view one of the most interesting items in the programme of the Royal Military Tournament now being held at the Agricultural Hall, Islington, is the display by the recruits from the Marine depot at Deal who have been in the service for six months only and whose average age is 18 years. These lads have had but 45 days’ gymnastic training, yet their muscular development, agility, and smartness in response to the word of command are wonderful considering the brief period of instruction. The exercises which they go through bring into play all the important muscles of the body and educate at the same time the intellectual faculties. In previous years at the Tournament similar exercises have been practised by non-commissioned officers under training at the headquarters gymnasium, Aldershot, who if we mistake not underwent a six months’ course and not a 45 days’ course. Undoubtedly the non-commissioned officers from Aldershot showed remarkable muscular power combined with intellectual activity both while acting individually
really
case,
result that it is dreaded more than it need be. So it has even happened that it has been thought advisable to insure against the loss of time and of money entailed by an attack. The Royal Exchange Assurance Company is willing to issue policies of insurance at the rate of 5s. per annum for every .6100 and a policy may be effected up to ;&500. By such a policy the holder is guaranteed all the medical, surgical, and nursing expenses, up to the amount insured, incurred by an attack of appendicitis. The company points out that this premium may be largely increased in the near future, for it is obvious that at present the "risk"" of such a policy can be only very indefinitely estimated. The only data supplied by the leaflet which we have seen are that during 1900 15,000 operations for appendiand that the citis were performed in the United mortality of these operations was 10 per cent. We are not aware whence these statistics have been obtained and, in fact, we cannot see how it is possible to discover the number of operations because the vast majority are never recorded. Be this, however, as it may, it must be borne in mind that many cases diagnosed as appendicitis recover without operation and therefore the total number of cases should be much greater. In the proposal for insurance there is one important question to be answered. It is this : Have you or has any member of your family ever suffered from appendicitis or from any of the symptoms pertaining to it ? This is a very wide question, for apparently a negative answer would mean that neither the would-be insurer nor any member of his family had ever had a pain in the right iliac fossa. Another difficulty is that it is not clear what the word "family"includes. It is possible that this question is
Kingdom
1457
but also in the examination. The latter schemeand collectively. So do the Marine recruits, but it is disus to be retrograde, for day by day it becomes1tinctly noticeable that some of them are working at the clearer that a thorough knowledge of the surgical branch highest possible strain. It speaks well both for officers and for men that such remarkable results should have cannot be acquired without a comprehension of the prinbeen accomplished in so short a period as 45 days, ciples and practice of medicine as a whole. If the prac- but there must be always some risk in a too strenuous tice of surgery were confined to operations then perhaps the and hasty endeavour to bnild up muscle. It remains to position assumed by the constructors of the minority scheme be seen what the effect will be when, after completing for the granting of dental degrees in the University of their course, the men relax their training, for it must London might be intelligible, but surgery is not a higher be remembered that over-taxation of the vascular system produce untoward results at a subsequent time. A grade of cabinet-making. Surgery entails for its scientific may curtailment of the period of training may, therefore, practice a thorough knowledge of the principles underlying in the end be a means of loss instead of gain to the Dental surgery may be regarded from service. medicine as a whole. Another noteworthy example of strength and the same standpoint. In some quarters it has been, ability is the display by the Royal Marine Artillery. exactly and still is, the tendency to estimate the practice of The general idea of this display is to show how a gun with landed from a man-of-war can be transported dentistry as something requiring simply manipulative its mountings and mounted in an extemporised manner on shore. The gun, dexterity, but this view has arisen partly from a want of mounting, and stores, together with the wagon on which they knowledge of the processes underlying dental disease are placed, weigh six tons and are drawn into the arena by and not a little from that narrowed vision which the 38 men. The slinging and unslinging of the gun on the extraining of the dental surgeon produces and which can temporised gin require some skill and precision in placing only be made broader by raising the standard of general the gun centrally. When the men begin this kind of trainand scientific education. With the increased number ing the weights with which they have to deal tax their to the utmost. At the Tournament, however, the of medical men specially qualified as dental surgeons strength gun is manipulated with as much ease as if it were a toy. a marked advance in dental pathology has taken Altogether this is a truly remarkable performance. In this and of the dental lesions, more connexion it would not be fair to leave unnoticed the display place inter-dependence especially of the gums and periodontal membrane, and by seamen of His Majesty’s ship Excellent with 12-pounder general systemic conditions has been shown. The dental guns. The way in which these guns are manoeuvred, mounted and dismounted, and lifted with ease over an surgeon in his practice is constantly dealing with cases obstacle representing a wall must be seen to be appreciated. which require for their rational treatment a knowledge of These three items in the programme alone form an objectmedicine, a fact which the authors of the minority report lesson which it would be well for everyone to see. do not appreciate, in our opinion, in its right significance. They would not, we are sure, consider that such well-defined INSURANCE AGAINST APPENDICITIS. branches of medical practice as, say, ophthalmic surgery THE sudden increase in the popular knowledge of or gynascology, should be practised by men with only a scant appendicitis has given rise to the idea that the malady knowledge of general medicine and surgery. To our think- occurs more with the than is the
required seems
to
frequently
ing, dental surgery should rank with the other special branches ; at any rate, all who practise dental surgery should be found wishing this, for only in this way can the scientific status of dentistry be maintained.
Annotations. ..
THE
ROYAL
Ne
"
quid nimis."
MILITARY TOURNAMENT.
FROM a practical point of view one of the most interesting items in the programme of the Royal Military Tournament now being held at the Agricultural Hall, Islington, is the display by the recruits from the Marine depot at Deal who have been in the service for six months only and whose average age is 18 years. These lads have had but 45 days’ gymnastic training, yet their muscular development, agility, and smartness in response to the word of command are wonderful considering the brief period of instruction. The exercises which they go through bring into play all the important muscles of the body and educate at the same time the intellectual faculties. In previous years at the Tournament similar exercises have been practised by non-commissioned officers under training at the headquarters gymnasium, Aldershot, who if we mistake not underwent a six months’ course and not a 45 days’ course. Undoubtedly the non-commissioned officers from Aldershot showed remarkable muscular power combined with intellectual activity both while acting individually
really
case,
result that it is dreaded more than it need be. So it has even happened that it has been thought advisable to insure against the loss of time and of money entailed by an attack. The Royal Exchange Assurance Company is willing to issue policies of insurance at the rate of 5s. per annum for every .6100 and a policy may be effected up to ;&500. By such a policy the holder is guaranteed all the medical, surgical, and nursing expenses, up to the amount insured, incurred by an attack of appendicitis. The company points out that this premium may be largely increased in the near future, for it is obvious that at present the "risk"" of such a policy can be only very indefinitely estimated. The only data supplied by the leaflet which we have seen are that during 1900 15,000 operations for appendiand that the citis were performed in the United mortality of these operations was 10 per cent. We are not aware whence these statistics have been obtained and, in fact, we cannot see how it is possible to discover the number of operations because the vast majority are never recorded. Be this, however, as it may, it must be borne in mind that many cases diagnosed as appendicitis recover without operation and therefore the total number of cases should be much greater. In the proposal for insurance there is one important question to be answered. It is this : Have you or has any member of your family ever suffered from appendicitis or from any of the symptoms pertaining to it ? This is a very wide question, for apparently a negative answer would mean that neither the would-be insurer nor any member of his family had ever had a pain in the right iliac fossa. Another difficulty is that it is not clear what the word "family"includes. It is possible that this question is
Kingdom