A SATISFACTORY METHOD FOR STAINING BLOOD SMEARS
Emery R. Hayhurst · JAMA · 1909
in the Philippines, where there are about 12.000 sol- diers.The large number of discharges from tliesa small fighting forces means that the burden of the future treatment of these men is going to fall on the general practitioner of the United States.It is obvious that tropical diseases are of vital importance to civil practitioners in the tropics.The medical schools of Manila recognize this.It must also be remembered that southern United States is semitropical and that civil practitioners there must have a thorough knowledge of the subject.Thai there is a good laboratory and medical school at Manila for the study of tropical diseases should not be a reason for failing to establish one in this country.Manila is more than a month distant from us, and few medical men would care to spend the time and money in going there for instruction.Physicians who intern;! to practice there should be taught before they go.If tropical medicine is divided among the various departments of a medical school it will lack that thoroughness and completeness which is essential to success.Perhaps few, if any, of the instructors have seen many tropical diseases or have any special interest in them.Most of their time is taken with teaching oilier branches of their special work or with outside interests.The subject should be put in charge of a man who is willing to devote his entire time to this work ; when not teaching he should be engaged in re- search.Arrangements and funds should be such as to allow him to visit the tropics every few years.The number of cases of tropical diseases in such a place as Boston is greater than commonly supposed.As soon as the general practitioner gets bettor instruction he will recognize and report cases more often.Clinical material is not the only essential in studying tropical medicine.Much may be learned without it.