Radium: its physics & therapeutics. / by Dawson Turner.

  • Turner, Dawson, 1857-1928.
Date:
1914
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Radium: its physics & therapeutics. / by Dawson Turner. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by Royal College of Physicians, London. The original may be consulted at Royal College of Physicians, London.

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    retains the emanation, which is of importance. The sulphate and carbonate are insoluble. The radium is contained, for therapeutic purposes, either in— (a) Sealed glass tubes; (&) Ebonite capsules; or (c) Mixed with varnish and spread out on pieces of cloth or metal. (a) The sealed glass tube is, I think, on the whole the most convenient and useful container for general use, and where only one container is procured. It preserves the salt perfectly, retains the emanation, and can be easily cleaned and disinfected. As there is a risk of the tube breaking—either, as has been suggested, spontaneously from an electric spark, or from an accident—it should be enclosed in another tube of metal. This may be of aluminium, silver, or platinum, according to the quahty of the radia- tion desired. The diameter and length of the tube should be as small as possible, both so as to localize the position of the salt inside and to permit of the introduction into the interior of tumours, fistulae, etc. If the tube be longer than is necessary to hold the salt, the latter will accumulate at the end that is lowest down, a point to remember in making an apphcation, for the effect will vary inversely with the square of the distance. (b) The ebonite capsule consists of a disc of ebonite sHghtly cup-shaped on one side. The radium is placed in,this cavity, and protected from air and moisture