Were it not for the possibility that a gloomy forecast on the future of medicine might be expected, I would have entitled this paper "Surgery at the Crossroads." This title, properly interpreted, presents graphically what I consider one of the most pertinent problems of present day medicine: the proper care and management of the ever growing numbers of victims of motor car accidents. This surgical problem has its origin on the highways, commonly at the crossroads. It is there also that the victims receive preliminary treatment, and it is from there that they carry away, too often it seems to me, preventable and deplorable aftermaths. That is my interpretation of "Surgery at the Crossroads." I know of no other aspect of modern surgical practice which requires greater emphasis and merits greater effort toward enlightenment of the general public as well as of the members of the medical profession. Other surgical