Providence Technical High School - Review Yearbook (Providence, RI)

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1928 THE TECH REVIEW 63 The Relation of Chemistry to Health and Disease By Helen Vanderburgh. ’28 (Awarded Girl’s Price in In early times, chemistry and medicine were more noticeably bound together than at the present day, although with careful study one may see to what great extent chemistry and health and disease are now related. In Alexandria, years before the birth of Christ, students at the medical schools there spent much time on the study of the human anatomy. The bodies of liv- ing men—usually criminals condemned to death—were opened, and in this way much was found out about the organs, functions, and structure of the body. Hippocrates, a Greek physician living several centuries before the birth of Christ, was of great service to the cause of chemistry and medicine. Over two hundred different remedies (mainly herbs) are mentioned in his writings, al- though he was a strong advocate of diet, air, and exercise. In the far east, chemistry was turned over to the priests, who spent many hours of the day in the temples, mixing and preparing medicine from herbs. It was at about this time that the priests were forbidden to shed blood, so operations were performed by barbers, and the fa- miliar barber’s pole still bears testimony to that practice. Gradually there was a visible separa- tion between chemistry and medicine, and Anthony Medal Contest) they were soon relegated to two distinct fields, hut even the widening influence of the times could not prevent the two from being constantly linked together. So they went, down through the ages up to mod- ern times and the advancement of Pasteur’s important discoveries. Pasteur was a Frenchman, and at this time France was suffering heavy losses, due to the spoiling of wine during storage and transportation. The wine became muddy in appearance and sour in taste, totally unfit for use. After some experi- menting, Pasteur found that if the wine were heated to a certain temperature and then cooled, it would neither spoil nor turn muddy, and the flavor would still be retained. This process became known as “pasteurization,” after its famous dis- coverer, but the term is now used more in connection with milk than with wine. In the pasteurization of milk there are two methods which can be used—the “flash” method and the “holding” method. In the flash method the milk is raised to a high temperature, held there for about thirty seconds, then cooled rapidly. Al- though this is the commercial way, it does not compare with the holding method, in which the milk is held at a high temperature for a much longer period. Chemistry has also had its share in the

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62 THE TECH REVIEW 1928 heard. In fact that’s all that was heard. Listen my children and you shall hear of the trials of the Senior Year. There are nominations, elections, rings, pictures and what not. After all, it’s a great life and “in the course of ichthioid events” we have learned to spout, “Well—these supernatural solicitings cannot be ill, can- not be good, but they’re not so bad.” There’s been another change also; we have grown from little fish into Big Fish. The books we have not read are the “Dic- tionary, “Encyclopedia Brittania,”“Book of Etiquette,” “Boston Cook Book,” and “The Social Register.” Some of us after graduation, are going on to the Greater Aquariums (colleges) and others are going into the Great Sea of Life where the waters are cold and relentless. Then, hail and fare ye well, ye kindly, patient toilers of the deep (Teachers) !

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64 THE TECH REVIEW 1928 purification of drinking water. No one can deny that a city’s water supply affects the health of the inhabitants of that city. Contagious diseases such as typhoid and diphtheria have often been traced to im- pure drinking water as their source, so too much stress cannot be laid upon the necessity for an absolutely pure water supply. The chlorination of water has done much towards its purification. Lack of iodine in the water has ofter caused goiter, and certain sections of the country are more in danger of this disease than are others. In Rochester, New York, iodine is artificially introduced into the reservoir there, to make up for the lack of a natural supply. It is to the chemist that the physician owes the use of anesthetics. That there were anesthesia-producing substances was not unknown to early physicians, but they scorned to use them, so even the most painful operations were performed while the patients were entirely conscious. The use of ether and “laughing gas” as an- esthetics marked the beginning of a new era in both medicine and chemistry, for it was left to the chemist to delve deeper into the study of anesthetics, and to per- fect those already in use. Local anes- thetics for minor operations soon came into general use. For a time cocaine served this purpose, but many deaths were caused by its use. Chemists then undertook the study of the cocaine mole- cule, which was found to contain three atoms—one relative to that found in nicotine; another, to the poison hemlock; while only the remaining atom contains the anesthesia-producing property. The useful atom was then extracted from the molecule, so that cocaine is no longer dangerous, but a new substance, novo- caine, is rapidly displacing cocaine for current use. These are but a few instances in which medicine and chemistry are necessarily linked together, and chemistry will al- ways be vitally connected with health and the cure and prevention of disease. The Gentleman in Gray Marvin Cornell. ’30 Told by a A small gentleman in gray, out on one of his habitual exploring trips, came upon a large, “spooky-looking” house. Led by his natural curiosity, he entered by a loose fitting door, lie found himself in a dismal room in which there were many strange appearing articles. He could hear doors rattling, and the wind moaning. Over all he smelt an odor which was very pleasing to him. On tiptoe, he progressed across the room, led on by that fragrant smell. Freshman Ah! He spies the source of the odor upon a small platform. He nears it, he reaches for it. and as he does, lie hears a faint click. He looks up quickly; an iron bar is descending; it is too late to dodge; the horrible device has broken the gentleman in gray’s neck. All is quiet again except for the moan- ing of the wind. Ah! Such is the sad tale of a poor mouse on his quest for cheese.