Report of the Committee of Management and Medical Director : 1944 / Papworth Village Settlement.

  • Papworth Village Settlement (Cambridge, England)
Date:
1944
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Report of the Committee of Management and Medical Director : 1944 / Papworth Village Settlement. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    team is now at work, including Dr. Robinow of St. Bartholomew’s Hospital, an expert in bacteriological cytology, ready to cope with the controversial problem of the type and mechanism of reproduction of the tubercle bacillus with a new technique and by a new route of approach. The research programme is roughly divided into four sections (I) Warmstage and cyto- logical observations on the initial develop¬ ment of tubercle bacilli in a variety of fluid and solid media ; (2) Warmstage and cyto- logical observations on the mode of repro¬ duction and the behaviour of the bacilli in various tissues of different species under various conditions ; (3) Warmstage and cytological study of the structures observed in intra-amniotic infection and now being induced in vitro ; (4) A study of the pro¬ cesses taking place in intro-amniotic infection compared with those in artificial media and tissue culture. From this main line of research, however, many side-lines are branching off and are being followed up as far as the facilities granted for this research allow. The first results of this research are being published in two papers by Brieger and Fell in the Journal of Hygiene. Physiology. The technical side of this work has always been handled by the writer himself, and it has been only possible to treat a limited number of persons. The Unit established at Papworth since 1935 with the assistance of a grant from the Medical Research Council, is well equipped for this purpose. Modern spirographic methods are widely applied to record respira¬ tory function and oxygen requirements in rest and during measured work. But preference is given to the Gas Analysis method making the widest use of Douglas bags. This is a comparatively new line of clinical research and applied physiology. The work follows a recognized technique now almost standardized, based on the well- known research work of Sir Joseph Barcroft, Prof. A. V. Hill, and the late Prof. J. S. Haldane, and perfected during the last decade at various centres. The aim of this department has been to apply on a larger scale a technique which has been devised after many years of research, to enable the Medical Officer to give a cons¬ idered opinion on the working capacity of an ex-patient in terms of his employability on the labour market. We refer in this connection to the employability chart pub¬ lished in the last annual report, which has proved very useful and is now an integral part of our reports. All the patients starting work or changing their working status have passed through this laboratory. The testing at three-monthly intervals, however, could not be fitted in. When the plans for the rebuilding of this department materialize, we hope to achieve a higher standard of efficiency. Children’s Survey. The 25 years’ Survey of the “ Papworth Families ” has now been published in book form—introduced by aforeword by Sir Arthur MacNalty, Chairman of the Research Com¬ mittee, and including a preface by Dr. L. B. Stott. I would like to take this opportunity of emphasizing the fact that Dr. Stott, who was the originator of the Children’s Clinic in Papworth, has made this survey possible by recording all the major events in the lives of the children of Papworth. The many others who have contributed to the success of the book, which has been given a very favourable reception, will find my appreciations in the acknowledgments. Bacteriological and Bio-Chemical Sections D. Barron Cruickshank, L.R.C.P. & S. (Ed/n.), L.D.S., (Ed/n.), D.P.H. (Comb.) Zinc Experiments. Most unfortunately, owing to a combination of circumstances, experimental work in this field had to be temporarily suspended early in the year. This is all the more disappoint¬ ing as (a) the greatly improved method of estimation was running smoothly ; (b) a repetition of some earlier experiments con¬ firmed the normal population dichotomy in terms of zinc diathesis ; (c) a correlation of the zinc levels in the ectodermal and mesodermal tissues of the cumulative sets of data revealed further evidence of this dichotomy, the contours of the correlation surface departing characteristically from the orthodox ellipse. This latter observation allows classification of the dichotomy in more general terms than previously possible and for the first time gives evidence that a group characterized by all the known zinc attributes of the tuberculous also exists in the normal population ; (d) there is also the suggestion [10]