An American surgeon's contribution to Chinese health care.

A prominent American thoracic surgeon, Leo Eloesser, while serving with UNICEF, contributed significantly to the health care of the Chinese people in the late 1940s, during the final years of the civil war and before the establishment of the People's Republic of China. The concepts he developed, especially concerning rural health service in poor, medically deprived nations, and the factors he felt must be taken into account in developing a health care system in any nation had lasting value. The story of the origin of his plan and his efforts to implement it is briefly related.