NOVEMBEE 12j 1915] 



SCIENCE 



693 



INJECTIONS OF THE BUNDLE OF HIS 



A SENSE of justice and the firm conviction 

 tliat publicity can alone correct similar errors 

 prompt me to speak in behalf of my former 

 associate. Dr. Lhamon. The following state- 

 ment is supplementary to a short foot-note ac- 

 companying a paper by M. E. King in the 

 American Journal of Anatomy for 1916. 



In August, 1911, my former teacher and 

 colleague, Professor W. G. MacCallum, accom- 

 panied by Dr. K. M.. Vogel, paid a friendly 

 visit to my laboratory in the presence of my 

 former colleague, Professor Zinsser. During 

 this visit Professor MacCallum showed keen 

 interest in, and appreciation of, some speci- 

 mens of bovine and sheep hearts in which the 

 sheath of the sino-ventricular bundle had been 

 injected with India ink, etc., by my former 

 associate. Dr. Lhamon. Dr. MacCallum in- 

 quired especially after the method of injection 

 because he considered it of probable use in 

 connection with demonstrations on patholog- 

 ical human hearts. 



Under date of October 24, 1911, Dr. B. S. 

 Oppenheimer, then fellow in pathology with 

 Professor MacCallum, wrote me, saying : 



Dr. MacCallum, in whose department I am doing 

 heart work, told me that you had a method of 

 demonstrating beautifully the auricular-ventricu- 

 lar system by injecting certain substances with a 

 hypodermie syringe. It would save me a great 

 deal of time if I could use such a method in my 

 examination of pathological hearts, etc. 



I replied to this letter, briefly explaining 

 Dr. Lhamon's method, referred Dr. Oppen- 

 heimer to Dr. Lhamon, giving the latter's ad- 

 dress, and added that Dr. Lhamon's article was 

 to appear in the American Journal of Anatomy. 



In the Proceedings of the New YorJc Patho- 

 logical Society, New Series, Vol. XL, Nos. 5 

 and 6, pages 130-132, 1911, Dr. Alfred Ein- 

 stein Cohen, fellow in pathology with Professor 

 MacCallum during 1910-11 and a friend and 

 predecessor of Dr. Oppenheimer, is officially 

 reported to have given a " demonstration of 

 ox hearts showing injection of the conductive 

 system." In discussing this paper Dr. Oppen- 

 heimer is officially reported as having said: 



After hearing of the method through Dr. Mac- 

 Callum I injected a few hearts of ungulates with 

 India ink and water, etc. (I. c, p. 131). 



Since according to the official published re- 

 ports Professor MacCallum was then president 

 of the society he can no doubt testify to the 

 accuracy of the facts reported there if these 

 were in question. 



In a personal letter written to me at his own 

 initiative on January 5, 1915, Dr. Cohen 

 admits responsibility for the publication of 

 the above report, but pleads that he acknowl- 

 edged Lhamon's priority — two years after hav- 

 ing anticipated Lhamon's work by his own 

 publication. Dr. Cohen further pleads that 

 this report can not be regarded in the light 

 of a publication, although the Transactions of 

 the New Yorh Pathological Society are pub- 

 lished regularly, received by several libraries 

 and are listed in the Index catalogue and the 

 Index Medicus, etc. Dr. Cohen adds that 

 hence " neither Dr. MacCallum nor I can be 

 held responsible for an indiscretion." 



Dr. Cohen also says in this letter that 



it is stated, furthermore, in Dr. Oppenheimer 's 

 discussion that both of us (Drs. Cohen and Oppen- 

 heimer) had heard of A-V. bundle from Dr. Mac- 

 Callum. 



As a matter of fact Dr. Oppenheimer is offi- 

 cially reported as having said that 



After hearing of this method through Dr. Mac- 

 Callum I (not we, as Dr. Cohen would have it), in- 

 jected a few hearts of ungulates with India ink 

 diluted with water, etc." {I. c, p. 131). 



Although Dr. Cohen frankly admits having 

 heard of Dr. Lhamon's work and stated in a 

 personal letter written four years later " that 

 so far as priority is concerned not only I but 

 every one acquainted with the subject gives 

 and has given full credit to Lhamon " he 

 nevertheless claims " that an injection of the 

 right side of the heart was made and published 

 for the first time by me." This false claim was 

 made by Dr. Cohen in 1915 in spite of the 

 fact that Lhamon three years before (Am. 

 Jr. Anat., Vol. 13, 1912, p. 63) stated that 

 " with the sheath system in the right ventricle 

 similar results were obtained, etc." That is. 



