# Armed Forces Institute of Pathology: Its First Century 1862-1962

The Armed Forces Institute
of Pathology
The Armed Forces Institute of Pathology
The Armed Forces Institute of Pathology
Its First Century
1862-1962
by
Robert S. Henry, A.B., LL.B., Litt.D.
OFFICE OF THE SURGEON GENERAL DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY WASHINGTON, D.C., 1964
THE ARMED FORCES INSTITUTE OF PATHOLOGY
Advisory Editorial Board
Colonel John Boyd Coates, Jr., MC, USA, Chairman Colonel James E. Ash, MC, USA (Ret.) Brigadier General George R. Callender, USA (Ret.) Brigadier General Raymond O. Dart, USA (Ret.) Major General Elbert DeCoursey, USA (Ret.) Howard T. Karsner, M.D. Rear Admiral William M. Silliphant, USN (Ret.)
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 63-60060
For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Washington, D.C. 20402 - Price $4.25 (Buckram)
Contents
| | Page, |
| FOREWORD | v |
| PREFACE | xi |
| Chapter | |
| I. The Institute and Its Ancestry | 1 |
| The Threefold Mission | 1 |
| The American Registry of Pathology | 2 |
| "Unique in the World" | 5 |
| II. Background and Beginnings | |
| Some Medical Problems of the 1860's | 8 |
| A New Surgeon General | 9 |
| The Scientific Approach | 11 |
| The First Curator | 13 |
| Collecting Specimens | 17 |
| New Quarters for the Museum | 23 |
| Grounds for Anxiety | 26 |
| Plans for an Army Medical School | 28 |
| The Museum's Collections Grow | 29 |
| Hammond in Exile | 30 |
| The Second Curator | 32 |
| Reorganization of the Museum | 32 |
| Pioneering in Microscopy | 34 |
| Woodward, Curtis, and the Camera | 36 |
| The Museum and the Lincoln Tragedy | 41 |
| III. Second Wind | 51 |
| Supply and Funding for the Museum | 51 |
| Increasing Activities of the Museum | 53 |
| The Museum's Fourth Home | 54 |
| Praise from Foreign Visitors | 60 |
| The Museum and the Medical Profession | 63 |
| The Museum and the Congress in the 1870's | 63 |
| Enlarging the Aims of the Museum | 65 |
| Varied Uses of the Museum | 66 |
| Scientific Skepticism as to Bacteria | 66 |
| The Third Curator | 68 |
| The Museum and the Garfield Tragedy | 68 |
| Chapter | Page |
| IV. Broadening the Base | 73 |
| Inadequate Quarters | 73 |
| Support From the Medical Profession | 76 |
| A New Surgeon General Presses for a New Building | 77 |
| Objections to Proposed New Building | 78 |
| John Shaw Billings Becomes Curator | 79 |
| The Museum Moves | 82 |
| A Shift in Emphasis | 84 |
| The "Old" and the "New" Museums | 84 |
| Dr. Billings' Appraisal | 85 |
| V. An Ending and A Beginning | 89 |
| The Museum and the Army Medical School | 90 |
| Walter Reed, Curator | 93 |
| Problems With Space | 95 |
| The Prime Source of Specimens | 98 |
| Bacteriology and Roentgen Rays at the Museum | 100 |
| Services of Dr. Billings | 101 |
| Animal Experimentation at the Museum | 103 |
| The Spanish-American War | 105 |
| VI. The Walter Reed Chapter | 107 |
| Yellow Fever Epidemics | 107 |
| Studies on Transmission | 109 |
| The Yellow Fever Board at Work | 112 |
| Dr. Finlay's Mosquito Theory | 118 |
| Human "Guinea Pigs" | 119 |
| The Death of Dr. Lazear | 120 |
| Studies at Camp Lazear | 122 |
| Soldier Volunteers | 124 |
| Testing the " Fomites" Theory | 125 |
| Transmission by Mosquitoes Established | 127 |
| Search for a Cause | 130 |
| VII. Triumph Over Typhoid | 133 |
| Typhoid and the Medical Museum | 134 |
| The Typhoid Board's Report | 135 |
| A New " Villain"— The Fly | 137 |
| Changes in the Museum Command | 139 |
| Volunteers for Vaccination Against Typhoid | 139 |
| European Experience | 142 |
| Compulsory Vaccination Introduced | 143 |
| Chapter | Page |
| VIII. The "Pickle Factory" Period | 147 |
| The Army Medical School Moves Out | 148 |
| Changes at the Museum | 150 |
| Changes in Classification | 153 |
| The Devotion of Dr. Lamb | 156 |
| IX. The Museum in a World at War | 159 |
| Making Pathologists in a Hurry | 160 |
| Dr. James Ewing's Mission | 161 |
| The Autopsy Question | 162 |
| Procurement of Specimens | 163 |
| Two Museums in One | 165 |
| Launching the Movement for a New Building | 167 |
| Applying the Graphic Arts to Medicine | 170 |
| Motion Pictures | 171 |
| Pictures as Training Methods | 174 |
| Use of Animated Drawings | 176 |
| The Museum Goes Abroad | 179 |
| Necropsy Service in the AEF | 180 |
| Medical Photography in the AEF | 183 |
| The Museum's Major Aim | 186 |
| X. The Institute Idea | 189 |
| The First Practicing Pathologist to Become Curator | 191 |
| Space Problem Intensified | 191 |
| Plans for a Great Medical Center | 194 |
| American Registry of Pathology | 197 |
| Working in a New Direction | 198 |
| Varied New Activities of the Museum | 201 |
| Possible Courses of Action | 203 |
| XI. The Registry Movement | 207 |
| Objective of the Registry | 209 |
| Organized Civilian Cooperation | 212 |
| Histopathology and the Museum | 214 |
| Inescapable Housekeeping | 216 |
| The Museum at Threescore Years and Ten | 218 |
| The Dental and Oral Registry | 220 |
| More Registries Formed | 221 |
| Publications of the Registries | 222 |
| Advantages of the Registry System | 224 |
| Chapter | Page |
| XII. Between the Wars | 227 |
| Deterioration at the Museum | 228 |
| Inadequate Space, Insufficient Personnel | 230 |
| Working Under Handicaps | 231 |
| The Edgar Bequest | 234 |
| Gaining Ground | 235 |
| Prospects for a New Home | 236 |
| A New Building— Where and When? | 239 |
| Action Delayed | 241 |
| XIII. Pathology Worldwide | 245 |
| Regional Centers for Histopathology | 246 |
| Increase in Personnel | 249 |
| A New Name for a New Organization | 250 |
| Scientific Investigations | 251 |
| The Attack on Tropical Diseases | 254 |
| Use of Materials for the Study of Pathology | 256 |
| Study Sets | 257 |
| The Army Medical Illustration Service | 259 |
| Storage of Museum Collections | 264 |
| Veterans' Administration and the Museum | 265 |
| Words of Appreciation | 267 |
| XIV. The Immediate, Imperative Objective | 269 |
| Continued Efforts To Get a New Building | 270 |
| Changes in Role of the Museum | 271 |
| Problems of Location | 272 |
| Building Plans Reviewed | 277 |
| Scientific Advisory Board of the AFIP | 280 |
| The Hawley Board | 283 |
| XV. New Name, New Home, New Responsibilities | 287 |
| Legislative Tangles | 289 |
| Congressional Hearings | 289 |
| A Bomb-Resistant Structure | 292 |
| Going Ahead on the New Building | 293 |
| Breaking Ground | 295 |
| Laying the Cornerstone | 302 |
| Dedication | 307 |
| XVI. Carrying On in the "Old Red Brick" | 311 |
| The Cooney Committee | 315 |
| Atomic Bomb Research Unit | 318 |
| Atlas of Tumor Pathology | 320 |
| Chapter | Page |
| XVI. Carrying On in the "Old Red Brick" — Continued | |
| The American Registry | 324 |
| The Medical Illustration Service | 326 |
| Rebirth of the Medical Museum | 330 |
| Research Programs | 332 |
| TriService Administration | 334 |
| XVII. Life in the New Building | 337 |
| Shortage of Space | 344 |
| Expanded Facilities and Services | 346 |
| Program of Education | 351 |
| The American Registry of Pathology | 356 |
| The Medical Illustration Service | 357 |
| Television | 361 |
| The Museum's Movements | 366 |
| International Efforts | 369 |
| Aerospace Pathology | 371 |
| XVIII. Into the Second Century | 373 |
| Organization | 373 |
| The Four Departments | 377 |
| Extramural Monetary Support | 386 |
| Scope of the Institute's Activities | 390 |
| Emphasis on Research | 391 |
| APPENDIXES | |
| A. A Chronologic Synopsis of Events | 395 |
| B. Board of Governors, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology | 403 |
| C. Scientific Advisory Board Members, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology | 405 |
| index | 407 |
Illustrations
| Figure | |
| 1. Brig. Gen. William Alexander Hammond, The Surgeon General, U.S. Army, 1862-1864 | 10 |
| 2. Circular No. 2, Surgeon General's Office, 21 May 1862 | 12 |
| 3. Circular No. 5, Surgeon General's Office, 9 June 1862 | 14 |
| 4. Group of U.S. Army medical officers prominent in the history of the Army Medical Museum and the Library of The Surgeon General . . . | 15 |
| 5. Maj. John Hill Brinton, U.S. Volunteers, first Curator of the Army Medical Museum, 1862-1864 | 16 |
| Figure | Page |
| 6. Surgeon John H. Brinton, with a group of Union Army officers in the field | 18 |
| 7. A page from the first Catalogue of the Army Medical Museum. | 21 |
| 8. The first home of the Museum | 23 |
| 9. The second home of the Museum | 24 |
| 10. The third home of the Museum | 26 |
| 11. The "Incredible" General Sickles and his leg bones | 31 |
| 12. Lt. Col. George A. Otis, the second Curator of the Army Medical Museum, 1864-1881 | 33 |
| 13. Lt. Col. Joseph J. Woodward, MC | 35 |
| 14. Maj. Edward Curtis, U.S. Volunteers | 37 |
| 15. Photomicrography spreads | |
| 16. Pioneer photomicrography | |
| 17. Photomicrography by artificial light | 42 |
| 18. Diatom, a form of unicellular life of microscopic size, magnified by 2,540 diameters | 43 |
| 19. Bullet that ended President Lincoln's life, instrument used to locate it, and bone fragments which adhered to it | 45 |
| 20. Hermann Faber | 46 |
| 21. Sketch made by Hermann Faber | 47 |
| 22. Reward poster, revised | 48 |
| 23. Maj. Gen. Joseph K. Barnes, The Surgeon General of the Army, 1864- 1882 | 52 |
| 24. The fourth home of the Museum | 55 |
| 25. Museum visiting rules | 57 |
| 26. Main exhibit hall of the Museum, Ford's Theater building, 1866-1887 | 58 |
| 27. Early "dry" exhibits in comparative anatomy | 61 |
| 28. Wet specimens on display enclosed in glass | 64 |
| 29. Surgeon David Low Huntington, U.S. Army, third Curator of the Museum, 1881-1883 | 69 |
| 30. Bullet from the body of President Garfield | 70 |
| 31. Maj. Charles Smart, Surgeon, U.S. Army | 74 |
| 32. Dr. John Shaw Billings, famed Librarian, fourth Curator of the Museum, 1883-1893 | 80 |
| 33. Fifth home of the Museum | 82 |
| 34. Foundation and evolution of the microscope collection | 86 |
| 35. Medical and Surgical History of the War of the Rebellion | 91 |
| 36. Brig. Gen. George M. Sternberg, The Surgeon General of the Army, 1893-1902 | 92 |
| 37. Maj. Walter Reed, fifth Curator of the Museum, 1893-1902 94 |
| 38. Army Medical School laboratories, located in the Museum-Library building in the first decade of the 20th century | 96 |
| 39. Early X-ray apparatus at the Medical Museum | 102 |
| 40. Early dental equipment | 104 |
| Figure | Page, |
| 41. Dr. Carlos Juan Finlay | 111 |
| 42. Lt. James Carroll, a member of the Yellow Fever Board, became sixth Curator of the Army Medical Museum, 1902-1907 | 114 |
| 43- Dr. Jesse W. Lazear, a member of the Yellow Fever Board | 115 |
| 44. Dr. Aristides Agramonte, Cuban member of the Yellow Fever Board . | 116 |
| 45- Camp Lazear | 123 |
| 46. Maj. Frederick F. Russell, seventh Curator of the Museum, 1907-1913 | 140 |
| 47- Maj. Frederick F. Russell vaccinating volunteers against typhoid | 144 |
| 48. World War I typhoid vaccination | 145 |
| 49. Rented quarters of the Army Medical School in 1910 | 149 |
| 50. Maj. Eugene R. Whitmore, eighth Curator of the Museum, 1913-1915 | 151 |
| 51. Dr. Daniel Smith Lamb | I55 |
| 52. Col. Champe C. McCulloch, Jr., ninth Curator of the Museum, 1915-1916 | 158 |
| 53. Col. William O. Owen, tenth curator of the Museum, 1916-1919 . | 168 |
| 54. Colonel Owen's "dream" of a new Museum and Library building, as pictured by Lt. Morris L. Bower, October 1918 | 169 |
| 55. Laboratory of Dr. William M. Gray | 170 |
| 56. Instruction Laboratory, World War I | 172 |
| 57- Film dealing with venereal disease, produced by the Instruction Laboratory | 173 |
| 58. Establishment of Anatomical Art Department is announced | 177 |
| 59- Headquarters for medical art in the Army Medical Museum, World War I | 178 |
| 60. Samples of scenes and messages from lantern slide sets developed for instructional use by the Army Medical Museum | 181 |
| 61. Col. Charles F. Craig, eleventh Curator of the Museum, January-September 1919 | 190 |
| 62. Maj. George R. Callender, twelfth Curator, 1919-1922, and fourteenth Curator, 1924-1929, of the Museum | 192 |
| 63- The "Great Hall" of the Museum in the 1890's | 195 |
| 64. Gross pathological laboratory, Army Medical Museum | 196 |
| 65- President and Mrs. Eisenhower congratulate Mrs. Helenor Campbell Wilder | 200 |
| 66. Maj. James F. Coupal, thirteenth Curator of the Museum, 1922-1 924 . | 208 |
| 67- Dr. Howard T. Karsner | 210 |
| 68. Title page and an illustration from volume XII of "The Medical Department of the United States Army in the World War" | 213 |
| 69. Col. James E. Ash, fifteenth Curator, 1929-1931; twentieth Curator, 1937-1946; and first Director, Army Institute of Pathology, 1946-1947 . | 215 |
| 70. Maj. Paul E. McNabb, sixteenth Curator of the Museum, 1931-1933 | 217 |
| 71. Maj. Virgil H. Cornell, seventeenth Curator of the Museum, 1933-1935 | 219 |
| 72. Maj. T. C.Jones, VC, Registrar, Registry of Veterinary Pathology, Army Institute of Pathology | 223 |
| Page |
| 73. Brig. Gen. Raymond O. Dart, eighteenth Curator of the Museum, 1935-1936; second Director, Army Institute of Pathology, 1946-1949; and first Director, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, 1949-1950 | 229 |
| 74. Capt. Hugh R. Gilmore, Jr., nineteenth Curator of the Museum, 1935- 1937 | 232 |
| 75- Maj. Harry A. Davis | 237 |
| 76. Architects' drawing of a new home for the Library and Museum, authorized by Congress in September 1941 | 243 |
| 77. Schematic representation of the flow of pathological materials during World War II | 248 |
| 78. A unit of the Museum and Medical Arts Department of the Museum photographing a diseased native of a tropical isle | 251 |
| 79. Maj. Gen. Norman T. Kirk, The Surgeon General of the Army, presents to Col. Balduin Lucke the Legion of Merit | 253 |
| 80. Various methods used by the medical illustrator to present the picture of trauma and disease | 260 |
| 81. "Wounds" for training purposes | 263 |
| 82. Main exhibit hall of the Medical Museum in the 1930's | 272 |
| 83. Maj. Gen. Norman T. Kirk outlining, to a press conference, plans for a new medical center | 277 |
| 84. Colonels James E. Ash and Raymond O. Dart look over an exhibit prepared for the American Medical Association Meeting in 1946 . | 278 |
| 85- Sixth home of the Museum, Chase Hall, 1947-1960 | 281 |
| 86. Materials awaiting inventory as the Medical Museum moved from warehouse storage to Chase Hall | 281 |
| 87. A corner of the exhibits of the Museum as shown in Chase Hall | 282 |
| 88. Scale model of the new building as planned before the requirement that the structure be blast-resistant | 291 |
| 89. Brig. Gen. Elbert DeCoursey, second Director, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, 1950-1955 | 294 |
| 90. Lt. Col. Colin F. Vorder Bruegge | 296 |
| 91. Programs for the three ceremonial steps in the erection of the AFIP building | 298 |
| 92. Turning of the sod | 301 |
| 93. Clearing the site of the new building | 303 |
| 94. Excavation troubles | 304 |
| 95- Cornerstone laying ceremony | 305 |
| 96. Typical floor plan of new Armed Forces Institute of Pathology building | 307 |
| 97. Coverage of the dedication ceremonies in the Service Stripe | 308 |
| 98. President Dwight D. Eisenhower dedicates the new building | 309 |
| 99. Quarters in the old red brick building in the 1940's | 312 |
| 100. Mary Frances Gridley | 314 |
| 101. Samples of the fascicles | 321 |
| Figure | Page |
| 102. Diagnostic consultation, under the direction of Dr. Hugh G. Grady, Scientific Director, American Registry of Pathology, 1949-1957 | 323 |
| 103- A sample study kit | 325 |
| 104. President Harry S. Truman inspects an Institute exhibit on U.S. Government hospital services, shown at an American Hospital Association meeting | 327 |
| 105. Antonio Cortizas | 328 |
| 106. Roy M. Reeve | 329 |
| 107. Aerial view showing the location of the Institute building in relation to the Walter Reed Army Medical Center | 335 |
| 108. Dr. Ernest W. Goodpasture, first Scientific Director, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, 1955-1959 | 338 |
| 109. Capt. William M. Silliphant, MC, USN, third Director, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, 1955-1959 | 340 |
| 110. Col. Joe M. Blumberg, MC, USA, Deputy Director, 1957-1963, and Director, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, 1963- ; Scientific Director, American Registry of Pathology, 1960- | 341 |
| 111. Capt. Roger H. Fuller, MC, USN, Deputy Director, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, 1959-1963 | 342 |
| 112. Col. Frank M. Townsend, USAF, MC, fourth Director, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, 1959-1963 | 343 |
| 113. Dr. Robert E. Stowell, second Scientific Director, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, 1959- | 345 |
| 114. Specimens in storage and on display | 346 |
| 115. Dr. Elson B. Helwig, Chief, Department of Pathology, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology | 349 |
| 116. Optical and electron microscopes | 351 |
| 117. Educational sessions | 353 |
| 118. Handling radioactive materials | 356 |
| 119. The evolution of an emblem, for the Institute | 359 |
| 120. Award-winning exhibits of the Medical Illustration Service | 361 |
| 121. War surgery told largely in pictures | 363 |
| 122. Printing the fascicles of the Atlas of Tumor Pathology | 364 |
| 123. Modern photomicrography apparatus | 365 |
| 124. Television camera mounted in ceiling of Armed Forces Institute of Pathology autopsy room | 366 |
| 125. Col. Joseph L. Bernier lectures with the use of visual aids | 367 |
| 126. Threefold mission of the Institute | 374 |
| 127. The Institute Organization, 1962 | 375 |
| 128. The three Surgeons General and The Director, AFIP, participate in the unveiling of a plaque on 19 July 1962 | 376 |
| 129. Executive officer and administrative staff | 377 |
| 130. Organizational chart, Department of Pathology, 1 February 1962 | 378 |
| 131. Department of Pathology staff, Professional Divisions | 379 |
| Figure | Page |
| 132. Administrative staff, Department of Pathology | 380 |
| 133- Lawrence W. Ambrogi, Chief, Histopathology Laboratories | 381 |
| 134. American Registry of Pathology staff | 388 |
| 135- Medical Illustration Service staff | 389 |
| 136. Curator and staff of Medical Museum, 1962 | 390 |
| 137. Building erected for the Army Medical Museum and the Army Medical Library in 1887 | 391 |
| 138. The Institute's expanding research program | 392 |