Abstract
FOR many years Dr. Gordon, in a series of papers, has brought before the medical profession evidence that strong rain-bearing winds have a very definite influence on the prevalence of phthisis. He has now collected these papers, and, in a work bearing the above title, gives a complete account of his observations. He maintains, as a result of these observations, that in any situation exposed to rain-bearing winds, whether it be over a wide region or merely the side of a street, the mortality from pulmonary phthisis is high. He works this out specially for Devonshire, but takes Exeter streets at one extreme and the civilised world at the other, always coming to the same conclusion. In all this, however, he does not, by any means, ignore other factors, especially “soil” and poverty. Our author points out that this high mortality from consumption is not due merely to a depression of vitality, for it is fcund that the general death-rate is not affected in the same way as is the phthisical death-rate. Moreover, he is satisfied that the action of the rain-bearing wind is exerted directly on the person exposed to it and not indirectly, “either through closure of doors and windows against the wind or by it driving wet into the walls of the houses.”
The Influence of Strong, Prevalent, Rain-bearing Winds on the Prevalence of Phthisis.
By Dr. W. Gordon. Pp. xiv + 108. (London: H. K. Lewis, 1910.) Price 7s. 6d. net.
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The Influence of Strong, Prevalent, Rain-bearing Winds on the Prevalence of Phthisis . Nature 86, 583 (1911). https://doi.org/10.1038/086583a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/086583a0