Howell Chapters 3-5

The urine test was an important part of 20th century hospital stays. But it increasingly became more important as doctors began to realize the potential diagnosis that could be determined by the test. When doctors realized this in the early years of the 20th century, they immediately began taking more notice of the urine tests than ever before. Urine tests had been known for a long time as a way to determine what the person was being affected by so the best possible treatment could be used. In 1900, the average patient admitted to the hospital had a urine test done right when they were admitted and not again. However, in 1925, it was not unusual for multiple urine tests to be conducted on a patient every other day for as long as they stayed at the hospital. This was mainly because doctors figured out that it was an important part of the diagnosis and treatment that they could use on the patient. Instead of the results being noted and barely looked at, doctors increasingly studied the results to find out something about the treatment the patient would need or to figure out what was wrong with them. Even when the patient was stricken with something that did not require the doctors to take a urine test, like a broken leg, urine tests were still taken from these patients in 1925.
The x-ray was another important technological advance that saw an increase in use between the years 1900 and 1925. It was especially important in looking at fractures, which was a major problem in those times, and determining patient history when they would or could not tell doctors themselves. Doctors also increasingly found that it was much simpler and easier to look at the fractures than just by feeling the patient or asking them directly. As doctors began to realize its importance, they began using it more and more, and by 1925 taking an x-ray was a regular occurrence during a hospital visit. World War I also helped the increase in use, as doctors had to maintain hospitals that saw an increased amount of men coming in, especially after a large battle. That, along with the many different injuries these soldiers suffered from, added to the idea that the x-ray was the quickest and easiest way to diagnose all the different assortments of injuries the doctors were seeing.