While still in the practice of neurosurgery, I was called one day to consult on a case some 200 miles distant. A 14-year-old girl had fallen from a rapidly moving automobile when its rear door inadvertently opened. She had lacerated her scalp badly, and, when the emergency procedures to stop the bleeding were accomplished, I was called, because the family physician was afraid that the patient's head injury would become exacerbated by the additional trauma of a long trip by ambulance. I was informed that the girl's condition was critical and that everyone feared she was moribund.