The white cloud. The changing pattern of hematologic research as exemplified by studies of oxygen transport

Medical research has become an integral part of governmental health care systems. As a consequence of this subsidization, its resources are far greater, while its activities have become more directly responsible to the perceived needs of the people. Clinical investigation in particular has been affected by this adjustment, and its decreasing role in the total program needs scrutiny. Progress in our understanding of oxygen transport is reviewed as an example of the capacity of today's scientific community to explore and develop new areas of knowledge.