Medicine: At War with Frostbite

In 10° Korean cold last week, a group of intent men prowled through frontline aid stations asking questions, leafing through records, occasionally taking blood samples from G.I.s on litters. The men were no ordinary medics, but specialists from a 26-man Army-Navy-Air Force Cold Weather Injury Team. Their job is to study current treatments for frostbite and look for new ways of attacking it.

So far, the Army has used two basic treatments. In one—the "let-alone method"—the frostbitten tissue is gently cleaned and dressed loosely. The patient gets 300,000 units of penicillin and an anti-tetanus...