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It is pertinent to point out that the treatment of anterior poliomyelitis is still in a transitional period. A few years ago the sole remedy consisted of the application of braces to support a weakened extremity. This procedure was, and still is, of great value, but it has also certain disadvantages. Constriction by apparatus entails impairment of the circulation and therefore of the nutrition of the limb. Another objection is the expense, to the patient, which to one in moderate circumstances is no minor item. The manufacture of apparatus necessitates a skillful mechanic and his charges are proportional to his ability and the amount of time which he has to expend. Not only is the first cost high but maintenance is expensive. The steel breaks, joints wear loose, the leather splits or the whole apparatus is out-grown. Orthopedic instruments are, and always must be, a constant burden and inconvenience, serving to remind their wearer continually of his infirmity; at any moment the apparatus may break and render him helpless. For these various reasons, the desire of the majority of patients to be free of their apparatus is very natural. More recently, orthopedic surgery has allowed many patients to dispense with apparatus formerly required and also greatly increased the utility of the apparatus employed. It remains now for the still newer advances in preventive medicine to limit or prevent paralysis and thus abolish the need for surgical procedures. Prophylactic treatment is always better than reconstruction. When the cause of the disease is thoroughly known, prevention of paralysis by early serum treatment, the application of some medicine as yet undiscovered, or not now used for this purpose, may be successful. The painful remedies of surgery will some day be replaced by the gentler methods of medicine.