Today the patient is demanding a more thorough examination than formerly. He is no longer satisfied with having his tongue inspected and being given a recipe for a box of pills. He demands an examination of his urine, blood, blood pressure, diet, etc. When he feels, sick and comes to us for help, he expects us to examine his complaint and take an inventory of his general condition. A record of the findings must be kept. The business man keeps his; we should keep ours.
Early last year Mocquot,1 the Paris surgeon, gave the details of a case showing the importance of such examinations: A soldier sustained a shell wound of the knee, which was treated by excision of the tract and cleansing, and—as the fluid from the joint was negative bacteriologically—by complete closure. Signs of infection developed on the fifth day, despite punctures and injections of ether; suppuration