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Article
February 1983

Commentary: Roentgen Rays in the Treatment of Skin Disease and for the Removal of Hair

Author Affiliations

From the Department of Dermatology, Louisiana State University School of Medicine, New Orleans.

Arch Dermatol. 1983;119(2):176-177. doi:10.1001/archderm.1983.01650260084023
Abstract

The bibliography of "Roentgen-rays in the Treatment of Skin Disease and for the Removal of Hair," including both read and published articles, comprises 89 references all published in the era from 1896 to 1900. Thirteen articles appeared in American journals or were read at meetings in this country. These statistics seem to indicate the initial flurry of articles on a then new medical development. A treatment modality capable of causing no pain yet resulting in ultimate necrosis of tissue was viewed as a "new phenomenon" by Pusey.1

I dare say that few modes of treatment survive 86 years. Although the apogee for the use of irradiation for dermatologic problems was about 40 to 50 years ago, the modality is still essential for certain skin problems, whether the treatment is provided by dermatologists or radiotherapists. There are even a few dermatologists favoring the latter. During these almost 100 years, however,

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