Page 51 - VHSA - Onderstepoort 100 Years - Part 3

In 1986 an international workshop on all aspects of heartwater was held. Prozesky played a very prominent role in it. J.E. Jardine of the Pathology Department, Faculty of Veterinary Science, and others described the immunohisto- chemical identification of E. ruminantium in formalin-fixed tissue sections from several animal species in 1995.
In 1931 Jackson was appointed part-time lecturer in Anatomy but still remained a member of the Pathology Section. In 1932 and 1933 he wrote two articles on ‘essays on the cancer problem’ (1. The veterinarian and cancer research; and 2. Modern thoughts on the aetiology of neoplasms). These were followed in 1936
ONDERSTEPOORT 100
chiefly occupies the minds of the long-suffering examining officers while at the microscope, but it would be safe to predict that this would not include the spleen as an organ!’ This article is a truly magnum opus and it is interesting to note that the artist who drew many of the colour illustra- tions was Ms G.E. Lawrence. (Another artist at Onderstepoort was Ms Cythna Letty. She was employed in 1925 to draw and paint watercolour pictures of macro- and microscopical lesions of animal diseases. She remained at Onderstepoort until 1927 when she transferred to the Botany Division, later becoming South Africa’s foremost botanical artist).
by his magnum opus on ‘The incidence and pathology of tumours of domesticated animals in South Africa’ which was a major contribution to veterinary science for which he was awarded a DSc degree. Because of his interest in tumours, most cases of suspected neoplasia were referred to him. In fact, he was regarded as the specialist consultant of neoplasms and, as far as Pathology was concerned, that was as far as his routine diagnostic duties went after his appointment in Anatomy. All avian brain tumours were referred to him at his request. That he retained his interest in neoplasms is attested by an article he wrote in 1954 on the gliomas of domestic fowls in South Africa with special reference to the lymphoid system.
“Thomas manifested his exceptional qualities
by obtaining his school matriculation certificate by private studies while working as a laboratory assistant at Onderstepoort under Theiler. He was permitted to enroll as a student at the Faculty and qualified as a veterinarian in 1926.”
One of the well-known pathologists
from 1927 to 1946 was A.D. Thomas who
was born in Switzerland and came to South
Africa as a small boy. He manifested his exceptional qualities by obtaining his school matriculation certificate by private studies
while working as a laboratory assistant
at Onderstepoort under Theiler. He was permitted to enroll as a student at the
Faculty and qualified as a veterinarian in
1926. He then joined the staff of the Institute and after only 2 years was awarded
a DVSc degree in pathology in 1929 for
his thesis on ‘Skin cancer of the Angora
goat in South Africa.’ He became Professor
of Pathology in 1938 and served in this position until 1947 when he resigned from
the Institute. Many of his fields of interest emanated from his routine diagnostic
work. Some of these were actinobacillosis
and other complications in sheep which
may arise from the feeding of prickly pear 141 (Opuntia sp.) (1931); observations on the pathology of bluetongue in sheep (1947); whether powdered glass is lethal to ani-
mals when ingested in feed (1933) (it
isn’t!); tuberculosis in the Cape kudu (1940);
and lumpy skin disease (1945) which had
broken out in South Africa for the first time
in 1944.
Thomas was a rather feared (but con- sidered fair) examiner by his students (final examinations at the time being both a viva voce and a practical comprising a post- mortem examination on an animal). Even
In 1951 in an article entitled ‘A con-
tribution to the cytology of the spleen: The Romanosky-stained bovine spleen smear’,
Jackson and H.P.A. de Boom of the Patho-
logy Section decided to put to good use
the information gained from the exami-
nation of countless spleen smears of cattle
which were submitted to the Institute for
microscopical examination during the East
Coast fever eradication campaign (see Part
3: Protozoology) and which constituted an
increasingly important part of the routine
duties of the veterinarians in the Division
of Veterinary Services (which included the
Field and Institute). In the years from 1915
to 1945 approximately 9 million smears
were examined. (In 1921 the Director of Veterinary Services remarked: ‘We will simply have to change the present system. It cannot go on..... The position has become intolerable to my mind... This smear work is paralyzing all the activities at Onderstepoort’). Nevertheless 24 years were to elapse before it was first attempted to bring some relief to professional officers by training and employing laymen to assist in the work. Concerning this Jackson and de Boom also considered that ‘It would be an interesting psychological study to ascertain what
after he had resigned from the Institute this reputation (as an external examiner) was retained. Many years later, after he had retired from active work, one of his erstwhile examinees (D.J. Thornton) happened to mention to him that he had always considered himself rather lucky to have passed Pathology in the final year. To this Thomas dryly replied without a smile: ‘I never passed anyone who did not deserve to pass!’
From 1938 to 1942 the pathologists in the Section comprised G. de Kock, A.D. Thomas, K.C.A. Schulz, H.P.A.
Pathology
1908-2008
Years