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Oral pathology and the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology
Colonel
Joseph
L.
Bender,
DC,
TSA,
Chief
of of
the Oral Pathology.
Pathology
Brsmch,
Armed
Foro~s
Institute
Oral Pathobgy
and the Armed
Forces Institute
of Pathology
ARLY in 1955 the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology will be moving into its new home on the grounds of the Walter Reed Army Medical Center. This is an event of great significance, not only to the medical profession but to the dental profession as well. The Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, it will be remembered, evolved from the old and venerable Army Medical Museum, which now has become one of its four major departments. It was in 1862 that William A. Hammond, then Surgeon General of the Army, issued an order establishing a medical museum. Its principal function was to collect, for purposes of teaching, study, and research, examples of injuries and diseases of interest and importance to the military. This primary policy Nevertheless, as the Army Medical has been retained for almost a century. Museum has grown and reflected advances in medical sciences, the scope of its functions has been greatly expanded. Very early in its history, the Medical Museum established a photographic unit to apply the infant art of photography to medical needs. It was J. J. Woodward, a pioneer American microscopist, an assistant surgeon assigned to the Museum, who did outstanding pioneering work in microphotography and was probably the first to use aniline dyes for the staining of tissues. By 1870 the Army Medical Museum already had an international reputation and had to find new quarters. The original home of the Museum was at the corner of 15th St., and Pennsylvania Ave., and, prior to its location at Seventh St., and Independence Ave., S. W. (in 1887)) it occupied four other sites, including Ford’s theater, the place where President Lincoln was shot. It was in the old red brick building occupied jointly by the Army Medical Library (now the Armed Forces 8Iedical Library) and the Army Medical Museum that the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology was created and it was in this building that the Museum assumed those activities which eventually led to its transformation into the central diagnostic research and teaching agency for pathology for the Army, Navy, Air Force, Veterans Administration, a.nd other civilian branches of the Government, such as the Public Health Service, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Atomic En’ergy Commission. Among the many functions assumed by the Museum was the development of close ties with the civilian medical and dental professions. It was John Shaw Billings who, serving jointly as curator of the Army Medical Museum and 113
E
librarim of the Army Medical Library, especially fostered the idea of close collaboration OS military and. civilian medicine to the great mutual advantage OS both The developmecnt of oral pathology within the Armed Forces institute of Pathology stems back to 1895 when, a,t its a.nnmal session, the American Dental Association designated the then Army Medical Museum as the “National Museum and Tdibrary of the Denta. Profession of the United States.” During t,he years to follow, the efforts of Colonel James B. Mann, DC, USA (Ret.) leading to the creation of the Registry of Oral Pathology in 1933 were of the greatest significance. This registry was established with support from the Division of Medical Sciences of the National Research Council and became a part of the already existing American Registry of Pathology which had been established in 1922. The Dental and Oral Pathology Registry was the fourth such unit among the registries, which now number twenty-two. The establishment of the Registry of Dental and Oral Pathology was one of the most important events in the history of American dentistry. It made possible an assemblage under one roof of one of the greatest collections in the world of pathologic material in oral pathology for teaching, diagnosis, and research. Its professional and scientific value is inestimable. The impact of World War II was both good and bad-good in that it permitted an embellishment of plans and bad in that it delayed their implementation. With the beginning of the postwar era in 1945, howcvcr, significant advances began. From a single oral pathologist, the branch has developed to a staff of fourteen. This expansion is also reflected in the amount and scope of cases received. These now number over 8,000 annually and include lesions I’rom all the soft oral tissues, the salivary glands, jawbones, upper neck, and regional lymph nodes. The energetic and loyal efforts of Dr. Henry A. Swanson of Washington, D. C., for many years chairman of the Council on Registry of Dental and Oral Pathology of the American Dental Associa.tion, constitute a most important facet of this active period. To him goes much credit for the events that transpired. One of these began in 1945 when twenty oral pathologists were asked by Colonel J. L. Bernier, chief of the Oral Pathology Branch, to support the organization of the American Academy of Oral Pathology. Response was enthusiastic and on June 6, 1946, a temporary executive committee met in the Hotel Statler in Washington, D. C., to formulate a constitution and bylaws for this organization. This committee eonsistcd of Colonel J. L. Bernier, Dr. Kurt H. Thoma, Dr. Lester Cahn, Dr. J. Roy Blayney, Dr. Hamilton B. G. Robinson, and 1)r. Donald A. Kerr. The manner in which the Academy has grown has been an inspiration to all. 01: equal importance was the establishment and aeccptance of the American Board of Oral Pathology by the American Dental Association at its annual session in 1948. At this meeting, Colonel Joseph L. Bernier, Dr. J. Roy Blayney, and Dr. Henry A. Swanson appeared before the House of Delegates, obtaining unanimous approval of oral pathology as one of t,he specialties of dentistry. Today, as one of the seven specialty boards of dentistry, the American Board of
115
EDITORIAL,
Oral Pathology ha.s prospered significantly. Both the Board and the Academy can look back to the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology where, through the efforts of Colonel Joseph IL Bernicr and Dr. Henry A. Swanson, they were
The
present
The
new
Armed
Armed
I?orcos
Forcvs
Institute Independence
lnntitrrto
of
Pathology
Ave.,
of Pathology Reed Army
S.W.,
building Medical
builtinp
Washington,
(located Center).
on
the I).
un
corner C.
the
01 Seventh
grounds
of
St.
the
and
WaPter
literally born. This cannot be properly considered an official &fort of the Council on Dental and Oral Registry, but it can be construed as representing the impact that the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology has had on the development of oral path.ology as a specialty in dentistry.
EDITORIAL
117
Today the Dental and Oral Pathology Branch is busily engaged in teaching and research. Recent publications on carcinoma of the lip (for which Colonel Bernier received the Louis Livingston Seaman Award in 1951) and the more recent studies on intraoral carcinoma and the peripheral giant-cell reparative granuloma attest to its research program. The nine full-time oral pathologists in training and the forty-five others who have prepared thcrc for varying periods are indicative of its efforts in education. To Colonel Joseph L. Bernier must go maJor credit, not only for the remarkable development of the Oral Pathology Branch of the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, but also for the birth of ideas which have nurtured the infant specialty of oral pathology into maturity. This could not have been achicvcd, however, without the untiring support of such men as have founded the American Academy of Oral Pathology. Working together they have brought much to pass. In its new quarters, the Oral Pathology Branch will occupy over 5,000 square feet, including offices and laboratories, animal holdings, special dental offices and laboratories, and teaching rooms. It will be closely integrated with such activities as cytophysics, histochcmistry, radiobiology, micrology, and tissue culture, having adequate physical space in each department. The complete acceptance of oral pathology as a special field in its own right within the functional activities of the Institute and the cooperate attitude of the Institute’s directorate stand as a working example of how medicine and dentistry may work and advance together. K. H. T.
Joseph
L.
Bender,
DC,
TSA,
Chief
of of
the Oral Pathology.
Pathology
Brsmch,
Armed
Foro~s
Institute
Oral Pathobgy
and the Armed
Forces Institute
of Pathology
ARLY in 1955 the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology will be moving into its new home on the grounds of the Walter Reed Army Medical Center. This is an event of great significance, not only to the medical profession but to the dental profession as well. The Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, it will be remembered, evolved from the old and venerable Army Medical Museum, which now has become one of its four major departments. It was in 1862 that William A. Hammond, then Surgeon General of the Army, issued an order establishing a medical museum. Its principal function was to collect, for purposes of teaching, study, and research, examples of injuries and diseases of interest and importance to the military. This primary policy Nevertheless, as the Army Medical has been retained for almost a century. Museum has grown and reflected advances in medical sciences, the scope of its functions has been greatly expanded. Very early in its history, the Medical Museum established a photographic unit to apply the infant art of photography to medical needs. It was J. J. Woodward, a pioneer American microscopist, an assistant surgeon assigned to the Museum, who did outstanding pioneering work in microphotography and was probably the first to use aniline dyes for the staining of tissues. By 1870 the Army Medical Museum already had an international reputation and had to find new quarters. The original home of the Museum was at the corner of 15th St., and Pennsylvania Ave., and, prior to its location at Seventh St., and Independence Ave., S. W. (in 1887)) it occupied four other sites, including Ford’s theater, the place where President Lincoln was shot. It was in the old red brick building occupied jointly by the Army Medical Library (now the Armed Forces 8Iedical Library) and the Army Medical Museum that the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology was created and it was in this building that the Museum assumed those activities which eventually led to its transformation into the central diagnostic research and teaching agency for pathology for the Army, Navy, Air Force, Veterans Administration, a.nd other civilian branches of the Government, such as the Public Health Service, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Atomic En’ergy Commission. Among the many functions assumed by the Museum was the development of close ties with the civilian medical and dental professions. It was John Shaw Billings who, serving jointly as curator of the Army Medical Museum and 113
E
librarim of the Army Medical Library, especially fostered the idea of close collaboration OS military and. civilian medicine to the great mutual advantage OS both The developmecnt of oral pathology within the Armed Forces institute of Pathology stems back to 1895 when, a,t its a.nnmal session, the American Dental Association designated the then Army Medical Museum as the “National Museum and Tdibrary of the Denta. Profession of the United States.” During t,he years to follow, the efforts of Colonel James B. Mann, DC, USA (Ret.) leading to the creation of the Registry of Oral Pathology in 1933 were of the greatest significance. This registry was established with support from the Division of Medical Sciences of the National Research Council and became a part of the already existing American Registry of Pathology which had been established in 1922. The Dental and Oral Pathology Registry was the fourth such unit among the registries, which now number twenty-two. The establishment of the Registry of Dental and Oral Pathology was one of the most important events in the history of American dentistry. It made possible an assemblage under one roof of one of the greatest collections in the world of pathologic material in oral pathology for teaching, diagnosis, and research. Its professional and scientific value is inestimable. The impact of World War II was both good and bad-good in that it permitted an embellishment of plans and bad in that it delayed their implementation. With the beginning of the postwar era in 1945, howcvcr, significant advances began. From a single oral pathologist, the branch has developed to a staff of fourteen. This expansion is also reflected in the amount and scope of cases received. These now number over 8,000 annually and include lesions I’rom all the soft oral tissues, the salivary glands, jawbones, upper neck, and regional lymph nodes. The energetic and loyal efforts of Dr. Henry A. Swanson of Washington, D. C., for many years chairman of the Council on Registry of Dental and Oral Pathology of the American Dental Associa.tion, constitute a most important facet of this active period. To him goes much credit for the events that transpired. One of these began in 1945 when twenty oral pathologists were asked by Colonel J. L. Bernier, chief of the Oral Pathology Branch, to support the organization of the American Academy of Oral Pathology. Response was enthusiastic and on June 6, 1946, a temporary executive committee met in the Hotel Statler in Washington, D. C., to formulate a constitution and bylaws for this organization. This committee eonsistcd of Colonel J. L. Bernier, Dr. Kurt H. Thoma, Dr. Lester Cahn, Dr. J. Roy Blayney, Dr. Hamilton B. G. Robinson, and 1)r. Donald A. Kerr. The manner in which the Academy has grown has been an inspiration to all. 01: equal importance was the establishment and aeccptance of the American Board of Oral Pathology by the American Dental Association at its annual session in 1948. At this meeting, Colonel Joseph L. Bernier, Dr. J. Roy Blayney, and Dr. Henry A. Swanson appeared before the House of Delegates, obtaining unanimous approval of oral pathology as one of t,he specialties of dentistry. Today, as one of the seven specialty boards of dentistry, the American Board of
115
EDITORIAL,
Oral Pathology ha.s prospered significantly. Both the Board and the Academy can look back to the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology where, through the efforts of Colonel Joseph IL Bernicr and Dr. Henry A. Swanson, they were
The
present
The
new
Armed
Armed
I?orcos
Forcvs
Institute Independence
lnntitrrto
of
Pathology
Ave.,
of Pathology Reed Army
S.W.,
building Medical
builtinp
Washington,
(located Center).
on
the I).
un
corner C.
the
01 Seventh
grounds
of
St.
the
and
WaPter
literally born. This cannot be properly considered an official &fort of the Council on Dental and Oral Registry, but it can be construed as representing the impact that the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology has had on the development of oral path.ology as a specialty in dentistry.
EDITORIAL
117
Today the Dental and Oral Pathology Branch is busily engaged in teaching and research. Recent publications on carcinoma of the lip (for which Colonel Bernier received the Louis Livingston Seaman Award in 1951) and the more recent studies on intraoral carcinoma and the peripheral giant-cell reparative granuloma attest to its research program. The nine full-time oral pathologists in training and the forty-five others who have prepared thcrc for varying periods are indicative of its efforts in education. To Colonel Joseph L. Bernier must go maJor credit, not only for the remarkable development of the Oral Pathology Branch of the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, but also for the birth of ideas which have nurtured the infant specialty of oral pathology into maturity. This could not have been achicvcd, however, without the untiring support of such men as have founded the American Academy of Oral Pathology. Working together they have brought much to pass. In its new quarters, the Oral Pathology Branch will occupy over 5,000 square feet, including offices and laboratories, animal holdings, special dental offices and laboratories, and teaching rooms. It will be closely integrated with such activities as cytophysics, histochcmistry, radiobiology, micrology, and tissue culture, having adequate physical space in each department. The complete acceptance of oral pathology as a special field in its own right within the functional activities of the Institute and the cooperate attitude of the Institute’s directorate stand as a working example of how medicine and dentistry may work and advance together. K. H. T.