HOSPITAL, any building for the re ception and treatment of sick, injured or infirm persons. If possible the hos pital should not be surrounded by other buildings than those belonging to itself. The structural arrangements should be such as to secure perfect. free circulation of air and the greatest amount of sun shine. The size of the wards depends on. the number of patients to be main tained, allowing a capacity of 3,000 cubic feet for each inmate. From 20 to 32 beds have been taken as a basis for ward construction. In some hospitals there are wards of one and two beds for cases which require special care, or which from the nature of their disease require partial isolation. The general form of ward construction is governed by the question of renewal of air and the superficial area allowed to each pa tient, for on this depends the distance of the sick from each other, the facility of changing their beds, cleanliness and many other important features. In a ward 24 feet wide, with a window for every bed or two, a 7 foot 6 inch bed space along the outer walls is sufficient. That would give 90 superficial feet per bed, which must, however, be increased in pernicious fevers, surgery and obstet rical cases. The ceilings should be from 12 to 14 feet high. With a view to economizing heat in winter and keeping the wards cool in summer the walls should be hollow, ceiled, and of an im pervious polished surface, easily cleansed with soap and water. All corners should be rounded off and no cracks tolerated, since they fill with impurities.
The floors and woodwork throughout should be of oak, closely jointed, oiled and waxed, rubbed and polished. The woodwork should be confined to that re quired by absolute necessity. The forms of windows must be such as to facilitate the entrance of light as a factor to pro mote health. One square foot of win dow glass to every 50 or 55 cubic feet of space will afford a well lighted, cheer ful ward.
The consensus of professional opinion is opposed to the present plan of con structing large edifices for hospital pur poses; the benefits they confer being greatly diminished by the risk of hospital diseases,—fevers of certain forms, ery sipelas, pymia, etc.,—which when once installed are most difficult and often im possible to eradicate.
The profession today favors a system of construction known as the "pavilion plan," which can be called a compromise measure between the large block edifice and the cottages and huts. According to this system the wards are separate and distinct from the administration building and should be arranged to form pavilions one story high, never more than two, and they should always sur round the administrative blocks. This mode of construction is applicable to both large and small establishments. The !loyal Infirmary of Edinburgh, the Her bert Hospital of Woolwich, the New York Hospital, the United States Marine Hos pital of San Francisco are among the best examples of the pavilion style..
Hospitals or asylums for inebriates, likewise hospitals for those addicted. to the use of opium and other narcotics, have lately been established throughout the United States. Fever hospitals are maintained in all communities to secure isolation in infectious diseases, and hos pital ships and floating hospitals are ex tremely valuable to promote complete i-lolation in cases of virulently infective (lisorders, such as SMALLPDX (q. v.), etc.
Military and naval hospitals, estab lishments for the care of sick and -wounded soldiers and seamen, exist in :.11 civilized nations. For military hos pitals in the World War see RED CROSS; also consult "Manual Medical Dept. U. S. A." (Washington, 1916).