To the Editor.—
It seems to me that Dr. Macintosh has rejected the value of the electrical acupuncture analgesia phenomenon without subjecting it to a scientific evaluation. Dr. Macintosh seems to imply that the effect is due to suggestion because it can be achieved by placing the needles in a wide variety of points. Erythromycin can be given topically, orally, or intravenously. Shall we attribute its effect to suggestion also?
While we debate its validity, the Chinese continue to use it for thousands of surgical procedures, undisturbed by our lack of confidence.
A pharmaceutical company has distributed an excellent film from the People's Republic of China on acupuncture anesthesia, describing the historical development and experimental investigations. Much time is devoted to use in the war setting. There are scenes of Chinese soldiers marching in formation. There is an example of an emergency field operating room being set up for a
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