Radium Volume 13-16 (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. 1919 Excerpt: ...in radium therapy as applied to various pathologic conditions, and the field of usefulness of the biologic action of radium in the domain of therapeutics is constantly widening. Furthermore, a great many eye conditions, such as trachoma, vernal catarrh and various tumors of the eyeball and adnexa, have been treated with radium without in any way impairing the normal structure of the eyeball or impairing its function." "One of the writers, who has done some research on the subject of chemotherapeutics of the cataract with entirely negative results, raised the question whether one might not expect that the radioactive substances may exert an influence on the development of the cataract. An a priori consideration of the subject showed the likelihood of such an influence by the radium rays." "As admitted by the best authorities on the subject, the capsular epithelium is most probably the starting point of cataract. Indeed, it is inconceivable that the change, or the precipitation, as it were, of certain soluble ingredients within the lens which result in the formation of the opacifications could take place without a change in the structure of the barrier membrane, which the capsule is; and since the capsule is essentially a product of cell life, the change in the barrier must be due in the ultimate analysis to an abnormality in either the structure or the function of these cells." "There is ample biologic and clinical evidence that radium produces various and very deep changes in cellular functions. In tumors and granulomas, the action of the rays consists in the inhibition of the proliferating capacity of the cells; in conditions like exophthalmic goiter, it influences and alters the functions of the cell. It is thus evident that ...