[Various aspects of occupational medicine]

Miscellaneous remarks about present and future state of occupational medicine and industrial hygiene in Switzerland. Historical recall, present structures, need of a multidisciplinary approach. Problems set by long-term effects, misleading security given by statistics, difficulty of interpreting subnormal biological values. Requirements, needs and limits of the legislation. Considerations about the medical services in factories and the debatable state of the occupational physician. Necessity of a training. Primordial role of the institutes, answerable for formation, teaching, research, experts and advisers for all who practice occupational health and industrial hygiene.