THE REDDISH-ORANGE FLUORESCENCE OF NECROTIC CANCEROUS SURFACES UNDER THE WOOD LIGHT

Abstract

IN THE year 1903 R. W. Wood utilized ultraviolet radiations passed through a nickel oxide filter to remove visible light. This invention has proved useful in medicine, science, arts, industry, theater, and elsewhere. In a dark room under the Wood light illumination many things invisible under ordinary conditions become visible. The Wood light makes certain minerals or printed cloth fluoresce in a peculiar variety of shades. Focused on an old painting, it makes the older colors fade almost completely and brings out distinctly the recent restorations. Lipstick marks in soap-washed faces or on laundered table napkins appear clearly as pale yellow spots. Figures or letters on laundered underwear or on forged checks, food contamination by rodent or insects, impurities in cocoa, flour, etc., invisible in ordinary light, appear clearly under the Wood light. In a dark room, a beam of Wood light focused on the skin makes