The value to medical practice of basic and applied medical research done twenty years ago

Research can be justified in many ways besides the improvement of clinical practice--for example, by providing the intellectual excitement necessary for teachers and students. The value of present-day research cannot be assessed; but that of twenty years ago can be, at least in respect of current medical practice. An analysis has been made of all the papers published in 1956 in the American Journal of Physiology, the Journal of Physiology (London), the Journal of Clinical Investigation, and Clinical Science. This shows an overwhelming impact on current medical practice coming from clinical departments, and a comparatively very small influence of work coming from preclinical departments. If this conclusion is correct and generally applicable, it has some relevance to the funding of medical research.