| Abstract: | In these days of intense specialisation one is apt to lose sight of
the vital relationship which the science of medicine bears to general
biology. The study of parasites and of the diseases they engender in
man and animals helps us to keep constantly in mind this relationship.
ThiS fact alone is weighty enough to justify the issue of this special
number on Parasitology. If another reason is required, it will be the
unique position the subject occupies in the field of medicine. Par-
asitolooY rivals f)acteriology in its influcnce on the development of
preventive medicine and was probably solely responsible for the intro
duction of chemotherapy by Ehrlich. Though no longer a virgin field,
Cliina still offers an inexhaustible wealth of material for scientific
investigat"ons on parasitic diseases. As an eminent American par-
asitologist once remarked "China is metaphorically speaking ''riddled''
with parasites." |
