Electricity in medicine

Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen: At the outset, permit me to thank your Association for having asked me to address you to-night at this joint meeting of the South African Institute of Electrical Engineers and the University of the Witwatersrand. It would, however, be taking advantage of the great honour you have done me, if I did not immediately disclaim any pretensions to a knowledge of electricity. My object to-night is to draw attention to that very limited knowledge on the part of the medical practitioner, and to the even more limited use of electricity as a means for determining the condition of the patient and for the alleviation of the sick.