View report page

158
These classifications have been printed and circulated throughout the hospital service
and they have been of assistance to medical men both within and outside the
Council's service.
The special pathological work carried out at the group laboratory at Mile End
hospital is summarised in the following report from Dr. A. B. Rosher:—
The bacteriological work for the borough of Stepney has been continued; and, in connection
with the examination of swabs for diphtheria bacilli, some new culture methods have
been tried. They have proved to be an important supplement to the older methods and the use
of a tellurite medium has been adopted as a routine measure, in addition to Loeffler's serum.
In February, the services of the pathologist were placed at the disposal of the medical officer
of health of a neighbouring borough in order to assist in the investigation of an outbreak of food
poisoning.
Time for original work has naturally been restricted, but it has been possible to continue
the investigation in relation to the etiology of influenza, and some work has been carried out in
conjunction with Professor G. S. Wilson concerning an unusual organism which was isolated
from a case of sub-acute bacterial endocarditis. This organism is of interest in view of its extreme
pleomorphism and it is proposed to publish a full account of it shortly. In addition, in view of
the recent work on Addison's disease suggesting that the suprarenal has a controlling influence
on the sodium metabolism of the body, attention has been paid to diphtheria to see if certain
symptoms of this infection can in any way be accounted for by the damage which is inflicted
on this gland by the toxin of the Klebs Loeffler bacillus. Preliminary experiments have been
carried out and it is hoped to continue this work in the future.
Dr. E. N. Allott has reported as follows on the special work carried out during
the year at the group laboratory at Lewisham hospital:—
The establishment of a diabetic clinic was referred to in my previous report. The work in
connection with this clinic has grown substantially during the year and patients undergoing
treatment at one of the other hospitals in the group have been controlled from this laboratory.
Towards the end of the year a Sanborn-Benedict basal metabolism apparatus was acquired
and a technician trained in its use ; the employment of this apparatus in fathoming the metabolism
in patients undergoing treatment has increased considerably in the hospitals of this
group and it was also possible to assist medical officers in other hospitals by applying the test.
A number of tests for the presence of poisons and other unusual chemical
investigations were also carried out for the other group laboratories.
Dr. W. G. Barnard, histologist in charge of the central histological laboratory,
has reported as follows:—
The histological laboratory at Archway hospital was taken over by me in February, 1934;
and, although the number of specimens sent in for examination was almost twice that of the
previous year, there has been little congestion and no delay in sending out reports.
All the reports of specimens have been classified and an index of histological sections supplementary
to those previously printed will be issued in due course. As was anticipated, this
store of available material has already proved of value to workers in this branch of pathology.
Spare material which could be used for teaching and research purposes has been sent to the
School of Pathology, Cambridge, and to pathological institutes and departments at a number
of London voluntary hospitals. Specimens of particular interest have been shown by the histologists
at meetings of the Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland and at the Pathological
Section of the Royal Society of Medicine.
Dr. Cowan, government pathologist to Penang, worked as a voluntary assistant in the
laboratory from September to December.
Up to the present time, some 400 specimens have been permanently mounted and placed in
the museum, and it is anticipated that these will be arranged and catalogued during the coming
vear. The museum is primarily intended for the use and instruction of the medical officers
in the Council's service, and therefore caters for the qualified medical man. It is for this reason
that it has been decided to group the specimens, photomicrographs and illustrations in order
that they may provide clear-cut impressions of abnormal processes as a whole and of their effects
on the whole body. All organs affected by a particular pathological process, and all organs
affected by a particular disease will be grouped together. In this way the emphasis will be laid
on the disease or process and at the same time the student will learn the patient's response to it.
Specimens which do not lend themselves to this treatment will, for the time being, be classified
anatomically. To collect the specimens required for this scheme will take many years, but
even in its present incomplete state the museum should prove of considerable use and interest
to medical officers, particularly to those who are reading for examinations for higher qualifications.
In addition to the specimens prepared for this or other museums, a certain number are
mounted and returned to the Council's hospitals where they are used for the teaching of nurses.
In time each of the Council's teaching hospitals will be provided with a small collection which
will be useful in the teaching and training of nurses.
By courtesy of the London coroners, one of the histologists is permitted to be present at
all the post-mortem examinations carried out on patients who have died while under anaesthetics
in the Council's hospitals.