t
mental anxiety, exposure, &c., that a definite answer will always be
difficult. I think there is already sufficient evidence, however, to
suggest that the remote effects of many of these injuries may be far
more serious than we expected at the moment, especially in the direction
of sclerotic changes in the nervous system.

_Treatment_.--In view of the remarks on the treatment of special
injuries contained in succeeding chapters, I shall confine myself here
to the question of the treatment of wounds of the soft parts alone.

This consisted during the campaign in the primary application of the
regulation first field dressing by one of the wounded man's comrades, an
orderly, or less commonly an officer or a medical man. This dressing is
composed of a piece of gauze, a pad of flax charpie between layers of
gauze, a gauze bandage 4-1/2 yards long, a piece of mackintosh
water-proof, and two safety pins, enclosed in an air-tight cover. Mr.
Cheatle,[13] in insisting on the importance of an immediate antiseptic
dressing in the field, recommends the following. A paste contained in a
collapsible tube, made up in the following proportions: Mercury and zinc
cyanide grs. 400, tragacanth in powder gr. 1, carbolic acid grs. 40,
sterilised water grs. 800; sufficient bicyanide gauze and wool for the
dressing of two wounds, a bandage, and four safety pins; the whole
enclosed in a mackintosh bag. The paste possesses the advantage over any
liquid or powder, that it can be applied in any position of the body to
severe wounds, and its application in the open air is not interfered
with by draughts of wind. Mr. Cheatle used a similar preparation with
success during the campaign.

On arrival at the Field hospital, or in some cases at the station of the
bearer company, the wounds were then commonly dressed as follows: The
parts around the wound were cleansed with an antiseptic lotion, either
solution of perchloride of mercury 1 in 1,000, or 2-1/2 per cent.
solution of carbolic acid. The wound itself was then cleansed, and a
dressing of double cyanide of mercury and zinc applied. This was covered
with a pad of wool and secured with a bandage. The gauze was usually
wrung out in the lotion before application as a precaution against
previous contamination, and the moistening was also useful as helping to
ensure the dressing from subsequent displacement. It was early
recognised that the drier the dressing the better, and hence anything
like a mac