18 G. R. Cameron 



policy for many years has been to admit as varied a type of 

 patient as is possible from the population that closely sur- 

 rounds us. Of course, there will have been some selection and 

 no-one would dare claim that our material represents a random 

 sample of the London or English population. We have had 

 surgeons, for instance, who for a time were especially interested 

 in some kinds of cancer for which they were engaged m perfect- 

 ing techniques for treatment. Likewise we have attracted, at 

 one time or another, heart cases or patients referred to a lung 

 or liver specialist. Caution must also be maintained in drawing 

 conclusions from our ageing cases for they have been admitted 

 to our hospital because they were suffering from some fairly 

 obvious complaint. Against this can be placed figures such 

 as those given by Drs. Trevor Howell and A. P. Piggot of 

 St. John's Hospital, Battersea, whose material was still less 

 likely to be selected than ours. These workers also give 

 information collected by Dr. G. Stewart Smith in various 

 municipal hospitals. Suffice it to say that there is reasonable 

 agreement, in general, between the results obtained from the 

 three independent series, although the classification and 

 emphasis often differ. 



In Tables I and II, I summarize the principal morbid con- 

 ditions encountered during five-yearly intervals. In every 

 instance I have carefully scrutinized the autopsy records and 

 endeavoured to decide what condition dominated the com- 

 plex pathological pattern at death. In practically every case 

 I have agreed with the considered opinion of the pathologist 

 responsible for autopsy. You will see from the tables that 

 70-80 per cent of deaths are included under the diagnosis of 

 cancer, arteriosclerosis, urinary disease (especially senile 

 enlargement of the prostate and its complications), primary 

 lobar or bronchopneumonia and chronic peptic ulceration of 

 the stomach or duodenum. In both sexes cancer and arterio- 

 sclerosis make up the majority of morbid conditions. Table 

 III groups together the dominant conditions in the total 

 groups. It turns out from these latter figures that 40-3 per 

 cent of males die from cancer and 20-8 per cent die from 



