The Fundamental Mechanisms of Shock

Research, to which so much discussion and thought will be devoted at this symposium, appears to have been downgraded in our society. Yet, learning and education per se rank high in our set of values, from the point of view of both lay people and profes sional workers. For some reason, we fail to detect the illogic inherent in this value system--for, what is research but the learning of new information? Apparently our society associates "learning" only with known, long-gathered information. This symposium, I believe, will generate new information about shock through the integration of knowledge of many investi gators, who have come to share a common meeting ground. Hopefully, the worth of this and similar endeavors will gain the recognition and, more important, the support of the public. In the next decade or so, I believe that shock research workers will be channeling their efforts more and more into investigating the repair of damaged cells. The individual cell and its products must be scrutinized just as carefully as we examine the whole organism or its collections of cells. Shock is an exciting area of research, but it involves years of painstaking work. Moreover, the society which will reap its fruits must be persuaded to share the burden of its support. John A. Sehilling~ M.D. lAbstracted from Dr. John A. Schilling's Opening Statement at the symposium on October I, 1971.