1117

SCOTLAND

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT)

SIR DAVID WILKIE’S BEQUESTS

IT is now well known that the anonymous donorwho made possible the extension to the surgicalresearch department in Edinburgh some years agowas Sir David Wilkie, and it has been decided thatthe department shall in future be known as the WilkieSurgical Research Laboratory. Under the terms ofSir David’s will a further sum of :E10,000 has beenleft to the court of Edinburgh University for theendowment of scholarships. for workers in the researchlaboratory. A further share of his estate has beenleft to the court for the establishment of researchscholarships in surgery and/or medicine, particularlyfor the benefit of graduates from the British Dominions,the research being, as far as possible, conducted inconjunction with the department of physiology. Theamount of this residue is not yet known, but willprobably be about jE30,000. These bequests willform a valuable addition to the research grants inEdinburgh and provide a suitable memorial to onewho was always keenly interested in medical research.

GASTROSCOPY

In a paper read before the Medico-ChirurgicalSociety of Edinburgh on May 3, Dr. D. M. F. Battypointed out the progress made since gastroscopy wasfirst introduced, but mentioned that further advancewas necessary towards the elaboration of an instru-ment which would be capable of making all areas ofthe stomach visible and would combine maximum effi-ciency with a minimum of discomfort to the patient.He gave a general- review of the procedure and ofthe findings in the normal and the abnormal stomach,referring to the severity of the gastritis which mayfollow operations on the stomach and also to thefrequency with which gastritic changes, especially ofthe hypertrophic type, are encountered in patientswith gastric symptoms. He next discussed therelationship of gastroscopy to other methods of

investigation of the stomach and compared its use-fulness with that of radiology. The profile viewsobtained radiologically could not equal in value theappearances obtained by the gastroscopist on directinspection of the gastric mucous membrane. Radio-

logy, however, provided an accurate impression ofthe size, shape, motility and position of the stomachin the abdomen, and allowed of the recognition ofgross defects such as ulcer or carcinoma. Gastroscopyproved superior in the detection of the finer changesseen in gastritis and in the terminal stages of healingof peptic ulcer, and the method provided a possiblemeans for the early recognition of carcinoma. Further-more, gastroscopy may be employed to confirm ordisprove the radiological findings should the clinicalmanifestations suggest a different diagnosis. Dr.Batty concluded that gastroscopy constituted a

major advance towards the accurate diagnosis ofgastric disease, but that it should be used in fullcollaboration with the clinician and the radiologist.

COORDINATION OF HOSPITAL SERVICESAt a recent meeting of the Edinburgh public-health

committee Dr. W. G. Clark, the medical officer ofhealth, said that if the Royal Infirmary were recon-structed it would probably be made a much smallerhospital for the reception of acute cases only, andthat other cases would be "fed out" to countryinstitutions. The infirmary would remain an impor-tant link in any future hospital policy in view of its

assets, such as its X-ray department. He gave awelcome indication of efforts being made to coordinatethe voluntary and municipal hospitals in Edinburgh.The infirmary is anxious to have more facilities fortransferring chronic cases to the municipal hospitals,but the latter have great difficulty in obtainingsufficient nurses. A scheme may therefore beevolved whereby the infirmary nurses do a shortperiod of " chronic nursing " at the municipal hos-pitals, and so help to relieve the difficulty. Specialarrangements are also being considered whereby thecorporation can receive some payment for the treat-ment of infirmary patients. Dr. Clark said thatthese schemes are only at the stage of preliminarydiscussion ; but cooperation between the hospitalauthorities is so important that he hoped that theobvious difficulties would be adjusted and that realcoordination would be attained.

STANDARD FOR CHORIONIC

GONADOTROPHIN

AT the third International Conference on theStandardisation of Hormones, held at Geneva lastAugust, it was decided that international standardsshould be established for certain hormones of theanterior lobe of the pituitary gland and analogoussubstances found in urine and serum, and that inter-national units should be defined in terms of a weightof each such standard. The final preparation of thesestandards, their dispensing in convenient form, andtheir storage, preservation, and distribution were

left to the National Institute for Medical Research.The preparation of the international standard for

the gonadotropic (now called gonadotrophic) sub-stance of human urine of pregnancy (chorionicgonadotrophin) is now complete. The standard hasbeen prepared from substantial amounts of materialprovided by six firms in different countries. Theindividual samples having been approved by theconference, a mixture was made and the standard hasbeen finally dispensed in tablets weighing about 10 mg.The international unit is defined as the specificgonadotrophic activity of 0-1 mg. of the standard

preparation, which is roughly the amount requiredto cause cornification of the vaginal epithelium ofthe immature rat. Each tablet thus contains approxi-mately 100 international units.

Like the international standards for a number ofother hormones, drugs, and vitamins, the standardfor the gonadotrophic substance of human urine ofpregnancy (chorionic gonadotrophin) is held, on behalfof the Health Organisation of the League of Nations,at the National Institute for Medical Research, andis distributed therefrom to national control centresestablished in other countries, or to workers incountries where such centres have not yet been set up.Applications from the United Kingdom should bemade to the Department of Biological Standards,National Institute for Medical Research, London,N.W.3.

ROYAL SOCIETY OF TROPICAL MEDICINE ANDHYGIENE.-The council of this society has awarded theChalmers Gold Medal for 1939 to Dr. Max Theiler of theinternational health division of the Rockefeller Foundation,New York, in recognition of his work on yellow fever andthe possibility of producing the vaccine by the use ofattenuated virus. The medal will be presented at theannual general meeting of the society at Manson House,26, Portland Place, London, W.1, on June 15.