208
209
technician and in consequence their time is almost fully occupied in routine work. What little spare time that is left to them cannot be made available for serious research, for the simple reason that as yet the Department is in want of an animal house.
The accommodation now available for use of the Depart- ment is already taxed to the utmost and will in a very short time become quite inadequate for its needs. There is an increasing number of specimens added to the Museum and an increasing volume of work dealt with by the Department. If the efficiency of the Department is to be maintained the University must now find for it additional accommodation and further assistance in
men.
At the present moment the Medical Library and the Dean's Office of the Faculty of Medicine are housed in the building of the Schools of Pathology and Tropical Medicine, and together they occupy a large amount of space which should otherwise belong to the School of Pathology. Their removal from the building would for the time being at least, relieve some of the congestion which has lately been greatly hampering the work of the Department.
During the year the following papers were published. A New Culture Medium By C. Y. Wang, The Lancet
September 1st, 1928.
On Vitamins By C. Y. Wang, The Caduceus, November,
1928.
C. Y. WANG, Professor of Pathology.
DEPARTMENT OF PHYSIOLOGY.
I beg to present to you the Report of the Department of Physiology for the year 1928.
During the greater part of the year the work has been ably carried on by the Acting-Lecturer, Dr. S. Y. Wong. In the Spring Term 59 students were given training in Biochemistry and Human Physiology, and in the Autumn Term, the number was 90, divided amongst the various classes of the Department as follows:
Junior Physiology Senior Physiology
Pharmacology
الله الله
25
33
32
20
20
It can hardly be said that the equipment of the laboratories is up to the standard considered as necessary in a modern medical school. Many of the mammalian experiments actually performed by students themselves in other universities cannot even be per- formed here as class demonstrations, and thus the acquisition of Physiological knowledge becomes largely a matter of lectures and book work instead of actual experimental experience a very poor foundation on which to build a sound knowledge of such a practical subject as Medicine.
This lack of equipment effects not only the Senior Physiology students, but also those attending the Pharmacology classes where the actual witnessing of the action of drugs is of paramount importance.
The equipment of the Department is purchased by money from the Ho Fook Fund, but unfortunately the custom has been to use the principal for this purpose, so that the Fund has now dwindled to nearly $1,000. At the present there is no Fund at all, for research purposes.
These two factors, lack of equipment and research funds make original contributions to Medical Science on anything like a satisfactory scale almost an impossibility. That a determined attempt to terminate this undesirable state of affairs is necessary is all the more obvious when one considers the wealth of research material-both Physiological and Pharmacological-in the virgin field of South China. We have here not only an opportunity but a duty to make this Medical School a worthy outpost of British Medicine in the Orient.
Nevertheless it will be seen from the following list that the research side of this Department is far from being unproductive. The following papers were contributed to the various journals. during the past year :—
I. Observation of Ultra-violet Light in Hong Kong; Caduceus, May, 1928.
2. Colorimetric Determination of Iron and Hæmoglobin in Blood-II; Journal of Biological Chemistry, May, 1928.
3. Nitrogenous Metabolism in South China; Chinese Journal of Physiology, Report Series, No. 1, July, 1928;
4. Colour Tests for Simple Sugars; Chinese Journal of Physiology, August 1928.
21