Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine - Synapsis Yearbook (Philadelphia, PA)

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in the laboratory Our professors were more than equal to the task of satiating our curiosities. Dr. Bradford performed the herculean task of lecturing every day, first in physiol- ogy, then in pharmacology. Neither rain, nor snow, nor anything else could keep him from the lecture plat- form. Three hours weekly in the morning, twice weekly in the late, very late afternoon, he lectured. Dr. Brad- ford had infinite patience. He would explain, and re- explain, obscure points, and then answer irrelevant questions as if they had the greatest pertinence. Then, he might explain it all again to make sure that we understood. We thank him for his enthusiasm, endur- ance, and forbearance. Dr. Morton Greenwald, professor of pathology, pos- sesses a gentle perseverance, a passion for detail, order and statistics, and an infinite memory. Add to these qualities anosmia, (for doing autopsies in comfort), and you would have the complete pathologist. It was from Greenie ' s well organized lectures that we first learned about disease. In one year, he and Dr. James covered the world of pathology in completest detail. Dr. Greenwald was a solemn man, indulging in little levity. However, he must have found his weekly quiz- zes quite humorous. Here, he tried to catch two tables that were likely to be unprepared. Slowly, he dragged his stool over to a table and asked such questions as — what percentage of cervical carcinoma spreads via the bloodstream on even-numbered days? He must have been clairvoyant, for inevitably on the day that he reached your table, you more than likely had been out late the night before. In situations such as these, even the more imaginative members of the class found their usual defenses of little use.

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in this building Our education was further enhanced during this period by a most pleasant and memorable visit by Per- rin T. Wilson to our college. His enjoyable lectures and demonstrations will long be remembered and appreci- ated. However, it was too good to be true. Just as we thought that we were finally adjusting to the tedious day to day existence of the medical student, a new catastrophe appeared. March produced a biochemical storm which left many of us in its wake. During the third trimester, we discovered that doc- tor ' also meant part-time mechanic and part-time in- ventor. At times, it required great ingenuity to operate the equipment used in the physiology lab; but, bear in mind, that at the end of the term, we all had results of one type or another. Microbiology and parasitology were also a challenge. Where else can one find such little bugs with such long and encompassing names? .After eight exams in the final period, we returned our bone boxes and our slides, and tired but not defeated, we embraced the summer with pleasure and a sense of accomplishment. Our first year at P.C.O. was an ex- perience that we would rather look back upon than forward to. We had made it. We were second year students. Our second year was a tranquil interlude between the frantic scramble for survival of the first year and the restless anticipation that we experienced in the third year. The pressure seemed to be off. We had reached the point where we had mastered the funda- mentals of osteopathic medicine — normal anatomy and physiology. Now, eager to learn, we forged ahead to add the abnormal or diseased state to our armamen- tarian. 13

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. y One of our Principles and Practice insiruclors in tiic sophomore year was jovial Dr. Nicholas S. Nicholas. Dr. Nick had many duties. He taught Athletic Injuries, supervised the extern program, conducted both a busy private and industrial medicine practice, was confidante to both student and administration, and taught manipulative techniques to all classes. It was evident that he got satisfaction from his work. We are sure that if he could just get enough adhesive tape to last through ten weeks of Gibney-boot making, there would not be a cloud in his sky. The semesters flew by, and the number of courses and subsequent linal examinations in- creased. As each examination period passed, the ranks of the virgins diminished. Would anyone survive nine sets of examinations without failing a course? It certainly did not look as if this was possible. Aside from the ever increasing number of final examinations, our second year was also marked by an outbreak of that strange and vague disease entity called Sophomoritis. Somehow, the second year medical student seems prone to develop many of the signs and symptoms which he reads about in his textbook. Dr. Tretta, we thank you for putting up with us that year. The third semester of the sophomore year was more interesting than any other, because we be- gan to study the specialties and the clinical as- pects of disease. Dr. Scharfs lectures on cardi- ovascular diseases scintillated with relevance, wit, and wisdom. Pediatrics, taught by Dr. Santucci, was another memorable course. Although he in- voked a ferocious manner, you could tell that he was a real good friend (or landsman, or paisan, as the case may be.). Gastroenterology was also enjoyable and worthwhile. In addition to peptic ulcer, gastric carcinoma, and ulcerative colitis, etc., we also are reminded of another entity dis- cussed by Dr. Frazier. called Montezuma ' s Re- venge. Invariably, each new lecturer would begin his presentation in the same manner: In the study of . . . , the importance of a thorough history and physical examination can not be overemphas- ized. After many repetitions of this basic con- cept, we were convinced of its merit. Now that our tastes had been verbally wetted, we longed to put our knowledge into practice, rather than just hear about it. However, one more year had to elapse before this would be possible.