The attack of Raynaud's phenomenon (RP) is characterized by finger blanching in response to cold or emotional stimuli.
To clarify the relationship between the attack of RP and air temperature, certain inhabitants of mountain village “T” (N₁=23) who had primary RP (PRP) were observed every day from August 20, 1990 to May 31, 1991 and those in town “K” (N₂=20) were observed from November 1, 1990 to May 31, 1991. One hundred and sixty-seven attacks of RP among 6 subjects in T Village and 89 attacks among 8 subjects in K Town were observed.
In T Village, the frequency of attacks was high in the morning, and the minimum and mean air temperatures in the days when some of the subjects had attacks (“attack days”) were significantly lower than those in the days when there was no attack on any subject (“non-attack days”). In K Town the frequency of attacks was high both in the morning and in the evening. In addition, the, mean and maximum air temperatures on the “attack days” were significantly lower than those on the “non-attack days.” The threshold temperature to cause RP attacks differed from one subject to another (5.2 to 17.6°C) in K Town during the period from November through February. The minimum air temperature which caused an attack of RP on any subject in T Village from August 20 to December 31 was 17.8°C.
These results suggest that cooling of the whole body in daily life promotes the onset of attacks of RP. When the minimum air temperature becomes lower than 18°C from autumn to winter, the whole body must be protected against cold to prevent the onset of RP.

To explore the possibility of incorporating oriental medicine and medical hydrology in the educational programs of medical, nursing and pharmaceutical schools, a questionnaire on the attitude of medical students (group A, N=70; group B, N=77), nursing students (group C, N=64; group D, N=61) and pharmaceutical students (group E, N=172) who had not yet received any practical medical education was circulated. The results showed that about 50% of the students did not recognize the term “medical hydrology, ” and about 10% of them did not recognize the term “oriental medicine.” Seventy-five percent of the group A medical students and 93% of the group B medical students were interested in oriental medicine, and these rates were higher than those who were interested in medical hydrology (49% (67%)). About 50% of the nursing and pharmaceutical students were interested both in oriental medicine and medical hydrology. Eighty-two percent of group A and 86% of group B medical students hoped to attend lectures on oriental medicine, and these rates were higher than those among nursing and pharmaceutical students. Between 49% and 60% of the students of all three groups hoped to attend lectures on medical hydrology. This rate was lower than that of those who hoped to attend lectures on oriental medicine. In general, the rate of those who had a positive image of oriental medicine was higher among medical and pharmaceutical students. However, there were no significant differences in the rates of those who had a positive image of medical hydrology among different groups of students. In all student groups, the rate of those who answered that both oriental medicine and medical hydrology are “relatively effective” was the highest.