International Review of Educational Cinematography (Jan-Dec 1934)

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THE CINEMA IN SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH 85 still intact animal, the bones, the brain pan, the organs of the thorax ; and later on, by the aid of new discoveries, we were able to see the marking of the different cavities of the alimentary canal, the urinary apparatus, the brain itself, the gall bladder, the circulation, etc. We can fix these markings on the photographic plate by means of X-ray radiography, or study the movements of some organ through its shadow thrown by the rays on a fluorescent screen (radioscopy). Even those who, like me, were among the first to interest themselves in the new researches and to dedicate themselves to medical radiology, that admirable and youthful science which is so overwhelming in its progress, so abundant, indeed, so inexhaustible in its discoveries and disclosures, and to which we undoubtedly owe at least the half of our exact diagnoses today, are still full of wonder when they see a heart beating before their eyes in a body that not only does not suffer, but feels not the least discomfort from this process. Fear of the darkness and the strange, mysterious method may cause the heart to beat faster, but the persuasive words of the physician soon calm it ; meanwhile, as the lungs swell out, they grow more transparent, and the diaphragm falls and rises with the inspiration and expiration of air. The Difficulties of But if radioscopic obRadioscopy. servation enables us to work out an immense programme of research on the seat, form and movements of any organ, there are still two results which radioscopy does not give : 1) Its moving images cannot be seen by many persons at a time. In fact, the light of the fluorescent screen, that is to say, of the special section that is made luminous when the X-rays beat upon it, is weak ; it is of twilight intensity, and therefore necessitates a long period of waiting in the dark and close vicinity to the screen itself, if it is to be perceived. On account of this compulsory limitation, we cannot make use of radioscopy for demonstrations before a number of persons. 2) It does not enable us to analyse exactly all the single movements of the body's organs, some of which are very delicate and not infrequently form part of a very complicated whole, movements that are continually passing one into another, sometimes with great rapidity. Yet it would be of the greatest use if we could fix indelibly one by one, the single phases in their natural succession, and even reach the point of re-composing them in their complete animated cycle, so that we could study them at length in the quiet of our institutes, away from the serious danger connected with the X-rays, or show them in public for the delectation, joy and education of all. X-Ray Cinematogra The necessity of P°y« discovering some special technique that would permit of a perfect cinematography with X-rays which would be identical in its results with that obtained by ordinary light, was realized even in the very beginning of medical radiology. It was also realized that it was necessary to reach the point of obtaining graphic notations of each movement on a photographic plate by means of X-rays (Rontgenchimography). I need not deal with this latter phase, which, started in 1912 by Gott and Rosenthal with good results, has been applied practically in Italy by Professor Cignolini of the University of Genoa, to a point that may be said to reach perfection, especially for the complicated pulsations of the heart. I will confine my remarks, rather, to X-Ray Cinematography, which is the subject of my report. It has a very short history, and two very different methods were followed in developing it. 1) Through cinematography, making use of radiography by means of the X-rays. 2) Through cinematography, photographing the image revealed by the X-rays on the fluorescent screen. And from these two procedures a third and much more modest method came to birth, namely : 2 — la