Temple University School of Medicine - Skull Yearbook (Philadelphia, PA)

Page 26 text:

we carefully attempted to follow the theory of the Allergic Phenomenon, the Dale Experiments, and the P.K. reaction to repeat this miscellany for the exams, we were only slightly elated to learn after the examina' tion that nobody else completely understood the busi' ness. And so it went with our nightly 5 02. reading assignment from a 10 lb Zinnser plus the B.C.G. and typhoid innoculations with their “pleasant side reactions. Then appeared the figure of Dr. Anderson on the lecture platform, and where else could be found one who had experienced the ravages of Breakbone Fever on the isle of New Caledonia? At least he gave us the feeling of someone solid and stoic who had plenty to offer us, including moral support. As a compensation for our travail this department afforded a source of feminine pulchritude which enlivened the laboratory hours for the majority of the class. And if Liz, Julie, and Betty Jane said that those dots were Gram positive, who were we to argue? Then when the ice cream boxes were handed out, we were overwhelmed. But we fub filled our obligations (with the possible exception of one classmate who felt that a cat was a better specimen source). The advent of Parasitology offered a climax— of sorts. The gamut of Delhi sore, Bagdad boil, Dunv dum, MuMu, and Loa Loa had us all feeling that we could converse quite intelligently with the lower abor igir.es. Dr. Gault's movies of the life and loves of Clonorchus . sinensis, Schistosoma hematobium, and Diphyllobothrium latum afforded us a rare opportunity for siesta following lunch. And according to the advice 22

Page 25 text:

were peeved at us, but we were now almost beyond their reach. The calm and mild Dr. Collins was trans-planted to head the reorganized Pharmacology department. So new was his equipment it was no longer necessary to use spit, chewing gum, and prayers to make the apparatus function. And we found even an experiment concerning the effect of ethanol to be performed upon ourselves. This experiment was believed to be unnecessary by some (especially a former class president) who felt that all medical students were cognizant of the effects of this drug from previous “experiments. When mistakes were made in the laboratory, our conditioned reflexes sent us to the cyclone cellar. Dosages of amytal inadvertantly became tremendous when the decimal point was moved in the wrong direction, so that our experiments occasionally resulted in euthanasia. And Dr. Mess remains only a memory at Temple. We have the feeling that it was just a little too much for his sanity to cope with. When one of the many comedians injected the periorbital space of a dog with air, it resulted in a grade VIII malignant exophthalmos. There he stood, the wheels going round and round, in an attempt to cajole the Autonomic System into an explanation of this phenomenal use of homatropine to the innocently smirking sophomores. Only an explanation of this confounding phenomenon prevented him from publishing an original paper upon the occourrence of grade VIII exophthalmos in a well developed 14 pound male dog lying comfortably anesthetized on the dog board. While none envied Dr. Collins his job of reorganization, the results of his work were to be commended. As we approached the next part of our training, we gradually became familiar with the famous company of Noguchi. Ehrlich, Pasteur, Levaditi, and Kolmer. We already had met Father John, and now he entered the domain of the Treponema to take the sting from the pursuit of the Goddess Venus. He imparted to us the knowledge of Bacteriology, Parasitology’, Immunology, Virology, Mycology, Parasitology, and love which were at his command. For where else could we learn that the Neisserian organism (don't call it “BUG !) could not flourish upon the porcelain throne, but required carbon dioxide, chocolate agar, and t.l.c. The inspiring kinetic lectures of Dr. Spaulding remained with us long enough to pass the National Boards. Although 21

Page 27 text:

of the great North American authority on South American diseases, a brief postprandial hiatus is a necessity in the lands of the insidious worms. Here was a course to be lived! As a fitting culmination of the two pre'clinical years the department of Pathology .awaited us, champing at the bit to be off on the mad whirl that is the first several weeks intro' duction. The clinical syndrome known as the Aegerter Ache was quickly acquired on the basis of the hourly dash from 426 to the micro lab and the diligent search for hydropic degeneration in the tubules of unrecognizabel kidneys. We regret that we took such copious notes in those first few days because we would have preferred to listen spellbound to the facile but dynamic style of the chief as he rapidly made us aware that the pathologist has the last word. From the con-founding welter of poisons and vital stains (vital only for passing exams) we were taken for a mad whirl about the cardiovascular tree by the high speed Dr. Pete. Then as a welcome relief Dr. Peale appeared. From the roller coaster pace we were taken gently by the hand and led on a leisurely stroll through the well watered garden of renal pathology. His friendly tips about what was going on in the mind of “the Chief and the other members of the staff were of great moral and practical value before the exams. With the amiable grin and the breast handkerchief dangling casually from his pocket, the impeccable Dr. Peale is the idealized representa-tive of a more kindly court of last resort, the pathologist. Dr. Gault was an old and familiar friend now cast in a new role, that of grand inquisitor. He sat casually in h»s