ABSORPTION OF ROENTGEN RAYS WITH USE OF A BEOFLLIUM WINDOW TUBE

Abstract

ROENTGEN ray therapy of skin disease, to the dermatologist, is like his right hand. M. F. Engman Sr. began using roentgen rays in 1904; Pusey, in 1902. A number of years ago, one of us (M. F. E. Jr.) was privileged to listen to a conversation between Engman and Pusey on the results obtained with roentgen rays in the years before the Coolidge tube was in use. Both agreed that the clinical results were better with the old equipment. They thought that probably the quality of roentgen rays was softer and that they were absorbed in the skin to a greater degree. Much attention was paid to roentgen ray quality at that time; quantity was largely a matter of shrewd guesswork. Since the early days, great advances have been made in study of the physics of roentgen irradiation, but we are still somewhat backward as regards actual knowledge of the biologic effects. The dermatologist is mostly concerned