St. Louis Courier of Medicine Volume 33 (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1905 Excerpt: ...of a general plan has a bearing in all cases but here, on account of the instability of the organism consid Premature Infants. ST. LOUIS. Read before the St. Louis Medical Society of City Hospital Alumni, May 4, igo5. ered, it is of much greater importance, while the limited amount of material renders very difficult the formulation of such a plan. The next point of consideration is the radical difference in the plans proposed. This seems to depend somewhat upon the fact that besides lack of material we have to deal with a peculiar difficulty. The term infant is capable of breathing air at 700 or lower, not only without harm but with positive good from the stimulation of the cold. This infant can also take crude nourishment, prepare and assimilate it for itself, being benefited by the very effort required in the exercise of the function, and its nutrition is sufficient to maintain its body heat. You see the point? Shall we try to imitate Nature's care of a child of this development, which to do perfectly is impossible? shall we treat them as term infants, which most often results fatally, or shall we place them in a special class between the born and the unborn? This is the logical plan, but in drawing his conclusion each observer has to decide first, to what extent shall these infants be treated like their more mature brothers living in the same world and exercising the same functions and, next, what concessions shall be made to their premature state. It depends upon both the temperament of the observer and the general circumstances of his observations to which side he shall incline and the plan formulated will vary accordingly. We now turn to the consideration of the lack of uniformity between the results of originator and inventor, which for want of time, ...