First annual report of the Cancer Committee to the Surgical Department of the Harvard Medical School, October, 1900.

  • Harvard University. Cancer Commission.
Date:
1900
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: First annual report of the Cancer Committee to the Surgical Department of the Harvard Medical School, October, 1900. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    REPORT OF CULTURE EXPERIMENTS MADE WITH CARCINOMATOUS TISSUE, 1899 AND 190O. Oscar Richardson. (Clinico-Pathological Laboratory, Massachusetts General Hospital.') These culture experiments were made to demonstrate whether the bodies found in the cells of carcinomatous tissue could be grown or not. The investigation was made parallel to one by Dr. R. B. Greenough on the pathological histology of the same material. The material was obtained chiefly from the surgical departments of the Massachusetts General Hospital and the tissues were taken and the cultures made as soon as possible after the time of operation. This pro- cedure insured a fresh clean warm tissue in most instances and gave the most favorable conditions for making cultures. The cultures were made under the strictest asepsis, all instruments and the glass plate on which the piece of tissue rested while the culture was made being cleaned in the Bunsen burner flame. The cube of tissue was seared on all its surfaces and an opening made into the central portion of the mass from which the cells of the new growth were curetted out as a semi-fluid pulpy mass in which the tissue cells were freely liberated. This material was then directly placed in sterilized tubes of media of various kinds and under aerobic and anaerobic conditions to be described. Media. Carcinoma Bouillon. — The tumor mass was taken from the breast and stripped of as much fat as possible. A few pieces of muscle clear of all fat were included. This material was chopped finely, weighed, and made up in the same pro- portions as ordinary bouillon. Then it was boiled thoroughly and filtered and brought to a boiling condition again, when peptone and salt were added as in ordinary bouillon. It was next carefully neutralized and boiled again for a short while and while hot, 2 per cent, of glucose and 1 per cent., of tartaric acid added. Then it was allowed to cool in a flask, then