1937-06-21 — Page 8

THE CHINA MAIL, JUNE 21, 1937.

The Question Has Often Been Posed, Should A Doctor Tell? This Time It Is

SHOULD A PATIENT

A PATIENT TELL?

IAM seated at my desk. people to conceal symptoms, to with-

The door opens and hold vital. information. my receptionist an- nounces a patient.

If the poor fellow gave, the im

I want to hear him speak natur“ pression that he was for ever chas- ally, not under the stress of emo- ing his own centre of gravity, yet tion, as he will when he is describ- But that's just a waste of time., never quite catching up with it, I ing his symptoms to me.

should unhesitatingly diagnose a It would sound almost like black form of paralysis.

My desk is purposely placed magic if we doctors were to reveal

A jerky walk might be the out- at the far side of the

to our patients how much we can ward sign of some serious brain room, so the patient has learn by looking at them.

trouble. A staggering one, presum- to walk several paces be-

ing the patient was sober, would That short walk to my desk, for in- reveal a tumour of the brain. or fore he can grip my out-

middle ear disease. stretched hand.

That short distance tells me great deal.

stance.

7

the

If the toes were not lifted proper- If the ankles were swollen I aly the feet would slap the floor, and should start tracing up further

would indicate neuritis. that

A symptoms to decide whether stroke at some time in the past would trouble was kidney disease, heart More than the patient himself reveal itself by the dragging of the disease, varicose veins or anaemia. could tell even if he really tried to toes. reveal the whole truth, which pati- ents often don't.

If the patient had kept his eyes on the ground and stamped in on his There is a curious psychological heels, it would be a sign of locomotor dread of disease that often

THE

leads ataxia.

WORLD GOES BY By "ULYSSES"

THE scene at the Imperial Con- fair, in whose ranks could be dis-

Tference following the murder of covered (if you weren't too nau-

As a matter of fact, it's scarcely neces- sary, declares the Wimpole-street doc- tor who writes this article.

He tells you why!

Very slow speech might indicate the thyroid deficiency.

If only one ankle was swollen, it would suggest an old clot in vein of the leg.

And now..

The Hand Reveals

his

My patient is holding out hand to shake mine, and a single swift glance tells more tales.

Blurred articulation may be due to an excellent lunch and provide another indication of digestive troubles; or it may even indicate general paralysis of the insane.

If there is a pronounced curve in Little by little I lead the conver- the nail from base to tip, as well as sation in the required direction, my from side to side, I should suspect questions grow more and more congenital heart trouble, or per- searching. haps a cavity in the lungs.

When I decide on the treatment If the joints of the fingers are I shall adopt, I do so with the com- to look) cocaine addicts, swollen, I know he has come to tell forting assurance that no matter Bruno Ivanitch, the Belgravian Am-seated

opium fiends, White Slave traffic-me about his rheumatism.

what he may the

have tried bassador, who was attending

to hide kers and Guards officers. The Con-

from me, Nature has cleverly mark- gathering disguised as a member of ference delegates were guarded by

If the grip was feeble I should ed his body with clues that never the British delegation (see yester- Lord Stamford Bridge, impecunious keep a wary eye open for general deceive. day), beggars description. I will Peer and ace agent of the British debility though it may only be a therefore not try to describe it, counter-espionage department, two harmless habit. thereby saving myself considerable | Zulus and a Man of Arran. labour and you a sick headache.

Suffice it to say, therefore, that the Big Three of Scotland Yard, after a quick search-of the Domi- nions Prime Ministers, uncouth fellows from the backwoods, declar- ed themselves to be in possession of important clues and that an arrest was to be expected within ten years, at the most. Upon this

Les

Girls came out dressed in the pro- He glances round at the chair as verbial string of beads and per-he lowers himself into it, and I notes formed weird antics on the floor to with satisfaction that his eyes do the accompaniment of a Negro not squint or flicker.

dance band playing Tschaikowsky's

tempo.

a

Symphonie Pathetique in fox-trot The squint would have been lily to the delegate from the Lee-

One of the gals threw a sign of paralysis of an eye muscle.

ward Islands, (I don't mean she threw it from the Leeward Islands shape of the pupils.

I carefully observe the size and but to the delegate from the Lee- unequal I

If these were should fear a tumour they left for the Yard to resume

ward Islands-well, anyway their slumbers, while La Carioca, Before the delighted fellow could

pressing inside his chest. most glamorous spy in Europe, leap up to catch it a shot rang out, leaped from the chandelier where the flower thrower sank to the floor cus them on mine, I would expect If he screwed up his eyes to fo- she had been in hiding and, vault and a red stain slowly widened to hear a pitiful story of violent ing over the heads of the surprised over her heart. A minute later the headaches or severe digestive trou- delegates, vanished through the delegate had caught the lily, only bles, all brought on by eye strain nearest doorway. With superb to expire as he raised to his nostrils and the need for spectacles. British apathy the assembled re-to catch the lovely (but deadly poi- presentatives of the Commonwealth sonous) fragrance.

of Nations resumed their discus-

"Curse it, foiled again," mutter-

As I pre-

The tip of his toe kicks slightly

sion of the best methods of pig-ed Bill Smith, former Master of breeding in the Upper (or Lower) Ceremonies in

Â. smart Parisian reaches of the Nile, and appointed night club, later first Communist

My patient sits down and crosses another sub-sub-sub-committee to deal with the matter, which was er of a whelk stall at Southend, as tend to note a few particulars on

Premier of England and now keep-one leg over the other. then promptly forgotten as the delegates had heard of the snappy his huge moustachios.

he slunk behind a pillar and twirled the pad on my desk I look down at The girl his foot as it hangs limply a few new chorus at the Dorchester and who had thrown the flower, none inches from the floor. much preferred Les Girls to musty other than La Carioca, most glamor- State documents. The fact that the ous spy in Europe, vanished in a chorus was American, in direct puff of smoke (which was about all at every beat of his pulse. contravention of the "Buy Britain" she was wearing) together with the movement, did not deter them in other members of the chorus who In a few seconds I know whether the least. They went to the Dor- chester.

were, as you have guessed by now his heart is in good condition, if it unless you are hopelessly C3 men- is too rapid, or if it is erratic and Two hours later, Mr. Joe Aloysius tally, La Roxana, La Rhumba and misses a beat occasionally. ("Bodyline") Lions, Mr. Bill ("Lum-La Hocha, second, third and fourth berjack") Mackenzie, Mr. Mike most glamorous spies in Europe, I look up and smile encouraging- Savage and the representatives of respectively.

ly. He smiles in response. I take Swaziland, Basutoland, :- British With great presence of mind the the opportunity to note the condi- Honduras and the Leeward Islands, band played the National Anthem tion of his teeth." were seated round a table on the (in waltz tempo), and so ends Act edge of the dance floor at the Dor of the thrilling drama of love, Then I push my papers aside and chester. At a myriad other tables hate and intrigue in the interna- make some banal remark about the round them were the elite of May- tional scene. More to-morrow. weather.

Should a patient tell?

He hardly needs to!

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