Since the beginning of the present century, the annual reports of the Council on Medical Education and Hospitals have constituted a unique documentation of the progress of medical education in the United States and Canada. The Council's 52nd annual report, which appears in this issue of The Journal, forms another important chapter of this series, which is relied on throughout the world by individuals, organizations, and governmental agencies for official statistics and basic information concerning medical education in the United States and Canada.
The report this year observes that medical education, having passed through the immediate postwar period, is now being conducted in what for the present era may be considered a normal or peacetime setting. It is appropriate therefore that the report review the substantial accomplishments of medical education in the seven years since the war, its present status, and the prospects for the future. The general public in