Sir David Bruce's lantern slides.

The lantern slides include views of Malta, Zululand and Uganda, showing the local conditions in which brucellosis and trypanosomiasis thrived, and photographs of people, customs and archaeological splendours (conventional tourist shots) as well as clinical and laboratory photographs.

c.1883-1918

9 slide boxes

Sir David Bruce, KCB,FRS,FRCP (1855-1931), a Surgeon in the Army Medical Services, and his wife, Mary (née Steele) (d.1931), an accomplished microscopist, served in Malta 1884-1889, where they isolated the organism, micrococcus melitensis (brucella melitensis), responsible for 'Malta Fever' or 'Mediterranean Fever', now known as brucellosis. Bruce was Assistant Professor of Pathology at the Army Medical School at Netley, 1889-1894, and was then posted to South Africa to investigate the mysterious diseases, 'nagana' and 'tsetse fly disease' which were decimating livestock herds. He proved them to be the same tsetse-borne disease, caused by a microscopic organism which he called a trypanosome. In later work (1897-1899), the Bruces traced the life cycles and modes of transmission of the causative organisms of both brucellosis and trypanosomiasis. In 1903 Bruce was seconded to the Royal Society Commission in Uganda investigating sleeping sickness and proved by observations and experiments that trypanosomes were the cause of this disease also. During the First World War, Bruce was Commandant of the Royal Army Medical College, directing research into the aetiology and control of trench fever and tetanus. Lady Bruce served on committees on the same subject, for which work she was awarded the OBE.

A digitised copy is held by Wellcome Collection.

There is no Box B, Box F or Box J, and several slides are missing.

The original material is held at The Museum of Military Medicine.