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The Medical Development Advisory Committee, a new body, was given the task this year to advise the Government on what programmes of improvement and expansion would be appropriate over the next 10 years in the circumstances of Hong Kang. This picture shows the Committee in session. Reading from left to right: Mr. Tar Kuen, Dr. L Shu-pui. Sister (Dr.) M. Aquinas. Dr. G. H. Choa (Vice Chairman), Dr. Sir Alber RODRIGUES (Chairman), Mr. R. H. Logo, Mr. Li Fook-wo, Mr. S. F. Bailey,

Mr. D. G. JEFFRESON, and Mr. P. R. WILLIAMS.

A nurse and a ward aid lend helping hands to patients at the Siu Lam Hospital for the mentally subnormal. The children in this play room spend hours toying with blocks and jigsaw puzzles.

burden. The work involved the screening of urine samples for narcotic drugs which required the evaluation of the most up-to-date scientific methods for rapid screening.

105. Lectures in respect of scientific aid to crime investigations were given to police staff by forensic scientists of the laboratory. Officers of the general division were active throughout the year. The pharmaceu ticals section continued to expand, recording a four-fold increase in the volume of work done, and the output of the food control section was greatly increased. There was an upsurge in the work carried out for the Commerce and Industry Department, and other departments. The determination of arsenic content in oyster sauces and poisonous metals in sea food and canned food was carried oul

INSTITUTE OF PATHOLOGY

106. The department's Institute of Pathology operates a number of clinical and public health laboratories providing laboratory investiga- tions in both curative and preventive medicine. It serves mainly government hospitals, clinics and various public health divisions. It also helps to conduct laboratory examinations for the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals, and the Pok Oi Hospital. Work arising from the Queen Mary Hospital on pathology, clinical biochemistry and bacteriology is undertaken by the University of Hong Kong's Department of Pathology, which receives a grant from the Government for such services. During the year, the total number of examinations under- taken by the Institute exceeded that of the previous year by 13,362. The increase was mainly in histopathology, chemical pathology, haematology, serology and virology.

Morbid Anatomy and Histopathology

107. A total of 1,307 post-mortem examination was carried out in 1972, of which 789 had medico-legal implications. The brains of 39 dogs were examined for the presence of Negri bodies (indicating death from rabies), but no positive findings were obtained. More than 4,900 specimens of sputum, pleural fluid, vaginal and cervical smears and other specimens, were received for cytological examination, of which 108 showed definite evidence of malignant disease. More than 40,500 biopsy specimens were examined in order to determine the histo- pathological diagnosis. Of these, about 3,000 were benign or malignant tumours.

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