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OBITUARY

HERBERT HENRY WOOLLARDM.D. MELB., D.SC. LOND. AND MELB., F.R.S.

THE sudden death of Prof. Woollard on Jan. 18,at the early age of 49, came as a shock not only tohis friends but to all those who are concerned withthe development of anatomical teaching and research inthis country. It is not easy to assess his work briefly ;but his contributions to anatomy, direct and indirect,were so notable that it is at least some consolationto reflect on some of his achievements.Herbert Henry Woollard was a product of Melbourne

University where he took his medical degree in1910. He played an active part in the late war,and attained the rank of a lieut.-colonel in theAustralian army medical service. After the warhe came to England with a view to working for thefellowship of the Royal Collegeof Surgeons, and for this

purpose entered on a course ofstudies at University College,London. It was in this way thathe came under the inspiringinfluence of the late Sir GraftonElliot Smith, an influence whichwas - destined to make himcompletely alter his plans. Forafter passing the primary fellow-ship examination he decided totake up the study of anatomyas a scientific career, and to thisend he was appointed a demon-strator of anatomy at Uni-

versity College.Woollard immediately threw

himself with all his energy intohis work, and although he wasat first involved in a considerableamount of routine teaching(because of a temporary short-age of teaching personnel), hewas soon producing originalwork of a very high standard.His association with Elliot Smithnaturally directed his attentionfirst to comparative neurology and the comparativeanatomy of the primates, and this interest is reflectedin some of his earlier papers. His monograph onTarsius was outstanding for its detailed analysis ofthe macroscopic and microscopic structure of thisremarkable animal, and it had a considerable influenceon the interpretation of its position in primatephylogeny. Other publications of a similar naturedealt with the cerebral cortex of Tarsius, the brainof Orycteropus, the geniculate bodies of lemurs, andthe retina of primates. All these papers were

distinguished by an originality of approach, and byan insistence on the functional significance of structuralvariations. It is probably true to say, however, thatWoollard was never quite satisfied with descriptivestudies of this kind, and that he realised from thestart of his career that anatomical problems mustbe attacked by experimental methods in order toattain results that can in any way be regarded asfinal and conclusive.

This attitude of mind was further developed duringthe year which Woollard spent at the Johns Hopkinsschool of anatomy in America as a fellow of theRockefeller Foundation. Here he came into closecontact with a number of American anatomists whoat that time were using and developing experi-

mental techniques in many different directions,and he himself became established as essentiallyan experimental anatomist. As the result of his workin the States he completed three highly importantpapers-one on the development of the limb arteriesas demonstrated by the micro-injection of livingembryos, one (with Wislocki) on the phagocyticactivity of hsemal glands, and another on vitalstaining of the meninges. In this last it was shownthat the mesothelial cells of the pia-arachnoid arecapable of being transformed under conditions ofirritation into freely mobile macrophages.On his return from America Woollard continued

his work at University College, and in 1927 he wasappointed assistant professor. At this time someof his best research-work was accomplished, dealingwith the innervation of the heart and blood-vessels,

and with the degenerativechanges associated with beri-beri. He acquired a very highdegree of skill in the applicationof the difficult technique ofvital staining with methylene-blue, and he used this method togreat effect in his study of nerveterminals. He also publishedin 1927 his " Recent Advancesin Anatomy." More than any-thing else this book has been

responsible for stimulating a

progressive development in ana-tomical teaching and researchin this country. The statictype of anatomy which hadbecome traditional appearedsterile as regards any future

development, and in its applica-tion to the medical curriculumit had come to surpass thebounds both of expedience anddecency. " Recent Advances "called vigorous attention to thevitality of anatomical sciencein other countries (particularlythe TTtitef! Rta.teRY an ft n Rmon-

strated that as a means of approaching problems ofstructural organisation, the methods of experimentalanatomy offer unique opportunities. Woollard’sinfluen.ce made itself felt by several of his con-

temporary colleagues, and it can be truly said thathe was responsible for initiating a movement toreorientate and revivify anatomy, a movement whichis just now, at the time of his death, beginning togather in momentum.

In 1928 Woollard was appointed to the chair ofanatomy at Adelaide University. Two years later,however, the chair of anatomy at St. Bartholomew’sHospital medical college became vacant, and hisappointment to this position brought him backonce more to England. It is interesting to recallthat his appointment was viewed with apprehensionin some quarters, on the ground that since he had beenso prolific in research he would therefore not belikely to be interested in, or give due attention to,his duties of teaching and departmental organisation.But this fear was entirely unfounded. His criticshad little realised the extent of his energies and hisconscientious attitude towards his routine duties.He had accomplished his extensive programme ofresearch not by neglecting his other duties butby putting in about twice as much work in twenty-

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four hours as many of his fellow anatomists. Hespared himself not at all, and at one time in his careerit was unusual for him to leave his laboratory beforemidnight. His industry and tirelessness were amazing,more especially in one of not too robust a physique.Asked how he came to have so good a knowledge ofGerman (he was the author of " The Scientific Basisof Anatomy "-an English version of a German bookon the Philosophy of Anatomy) he replied that hehad never lived in Germany ; yet on being challengedhe proceeded to read at random from a Germantechnical book, translating as fast as he could speak.He had mastered the syntax and written word, withoutany aid but his intelligent use of textbooks and a

dictionary, when faced by the necessity of undertakingthe translation of the Philosophy.The appointment at Bart’s was an unqualified success.

Not only did Woollard distinguish himself by thestimulating character of his teaching and his powersof organisation, but he proved himself to be an idealcollaborator with his clinical colleagues. The latterwere not slow to recognise his qualities, and continuallysought and received his advice and help in all problemswhich had an anatomical reference. Anatomy meantto him appreciation of function as well as of structure :he regarded radiological apparatus as an essentialpart of his equipment, and the teaching of minute aswell as naked-eye structure as the province of theanatomist. Although he was one of the pioneersof the scientific and academic outlook in anatomyhe had formulated his objective before he became ateacher and while he was still in medical practice,and thus arose the interesting paradox that the manwho was feared by examination candidates becauseof his " scientific " outlook was the very man whoreally knew what was most appropriate for medicalstudents in the ancillary subjects. The studentwho knew his ordinary anatomy reasonably well andunderstood something of its application to modernsurgery had nothing to fear from him, no matterwhat form the actual examination might take." In many years of examining," a colleague says," I have never met so quick and accurate, and yetso generous an assessment of a candidate’s abilitiesand potentialities."When he finally left St. Bartholomew’s on an

invitation to the chair of anatomy at UniversityCollege (which had become vacant on Elliot Smith’sdeath), Woollard left behind him a permanentmemorial in the magnificent new department of

anatomy which he was responsible for planning andequipping. He quickly rose to the executive of

any institution he served and at Bart’s as elsewherehis intense interest in the medical college, his loyalty,and his administrative gifts brought him power whichhe used with vision and discretion.

Woollard’s appointment to University College in1936 was welcomed by all his colleagues as appro-priate, and indeed inevitable. He rapidly collectedin his department a small band of enthusiastic anddevoted workers who engaged themselves in severalproductive lines of research under his direction andguidance, and it became evident that UniversityCollege was likely in the future to uphold its reputa-tion as a breeding-ground of anatomists. As regardshis own research, Woollard now concentrated hisattention mainly on problems of peripheral sensation.He had for some years been using himself as an experi-mental subject and aimed at correlating the distribu-tion of different sensory spots in his own skin withdifferent morphological types of nerve-ending. Itis a tribute to his enthusiasm for his research thatthis method of experimentation involved not a

little personal discomfort in the numerous small butpainful operations which he permitted to be carriedout on himself, in order to obtain material for histo-logical study. In 1936 and 1937 several papers were

published recording the results of these observations,and in 1938 the importance of his work was recognisedby his election to the Royal Society.

It was just at this stage of his career that Woollarddied. He himself was in the middle of a compre-hensive and systematic programme of research, a

number of junior members of his staff were beingeffectively trained by him in methods of teachingand research, and his flourishing department showedevery sign of developing into an even more dis-

tinguished centre of anatomy. It is no wonder thathis colleagues and those who are interested in medicaleducation in London feel shocked at the loss whichthey have sustained.We owe much of this record to Prof. W. E. Le Gros

Clark, who writes in conclusion : " Woollard wasone of those men who for weeks and months on endgive all the energy of which a human being isphysically capable to sheer hard work. He workedcontinuously, for his students and demonstrators,for his department, for his school and university,and for the subject which he represented so effectively.Only his most intimate friends knew that during thelast two or three years he was often working againstalmost intolerable odds. He himself suspectedcardiac trouble because of the acute anginoid painwhich attacked him from time to time, and hissuspicions were shown to be well justified at his death.Yet the physical and mental strain that were thusimposed upon him did nothing to deter Woollardfrom fulfilling his duties to the utmost. We mourna colleague of singular nobility and tenacity of

purpose, and a friend of a most lovable character."Others speak of his brilliance in conversation-his rapidity in attack and his ready repartee-and his generosity to other people’s labours : "iftheir work was genuine scientific work, a seekingafter truth, he would regard it, however small an

effort, as quite as important as anything he had everdone himself."

Thinking of him first as a teacher, a close associate,Prof. John Kirk, recalls that like his great predecessorat University College, Woollard believed that theteacher’s duty was not so much to reiterate thefacts which were already made abundantly plain toevery zealous student in the laboratory and dissecting-room, but to emphasise the interpretation of thesefacts and to give the student a true understandingof the processes which had brought structure to itsfinal form, perfectly adapted for its destined function." It was little wonder, then, that so many of hisstudents entered into their heritage and were ableto grasp the significance of anatomy as a scienceas well as a vital part of the medical curriculum.Like all true scientists Woollard was a tireless workerbecause he loved his work, and he was a stimulatingteacher because his lectures were fresh and repletewith his own thought and inquiry which ranged fromthe heart to the periphery of his subject.

" His memory of things which he had seen and heardand read," adds Prof. Kirk, " was remarkable.In his research-work he was in excelsis. His own

personal output as well as that to which he inspiredothers who worked under his suggestion and guidancewas enormous. It was never work merely for work’ssake but always the response to some problem whichcried out for solution and which would provide thekey to a better understanding of physiological orpathological processes. Terra cognita and regional

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anatomy which had already been explored and

mapped in detail made little appeal to his fertilemind. It was the circumference of the ever-wideningcircle of anatomical and physiological knowledgewhich attracted him and for which he spread aroundhim a contagious enthusiasm.

" The title of his well-known publication RecentAdvances in Anatomy ’ was typical of the man andno one could have done it better. In his privateroom at University College there hung a translationof Pavlov’s Bequest to the Academic Youth of hiscountry, dated Feb. 27, 1936 :-

Perfect as is the wing of the bird it never couldraise the bird up without resting on air. Facts arethe air of a scientist. Without them you never can

fly. Without them your theories’ are vain efforts.’But learning, experimenting, observing, try not tostay on the surface of the facts. Try to penetrateto the secret of their occurrence, persistently searchfor the laws which govern them. Be passionate inyour work and your searchings.This was Woollard speaking as well as Pavlov. Itis not surprising, therefore, that at the comparativelyearly age of 49 years he had lived a life so fruitfulin its results and so useful to his fellows. Thoseof us who were privileged to enjoy his friendship andleadership feel a loss which cannot be put into wordsand our deep and understanding sympathy is withthe inner circle in the home where as husband andfather he is missed most of all."

MEDICAL NEWS

University of OxfordOn Jan. 19 the degree of B.M. was conferred on

S. Durham and J. E. Duffield.Dr. B. G. Maegraith has been elected dean of the medical

school for four years.The degree of M.A. was conferred by decree on Dr.

A. H. T. Robb-Smith, Nuffield reader in pathology.University of CambridgeOn Jan. 21 the following degrees were conferred :-Af..—W. S. Feldberg (university lecturer in physiology).M.B., B.Chir.-E. P. Jowett, W. R. Gavin, R. H. H.

Williams, John Watson, G. H. Evans, E. S. Dismorr, E. W.Somerville, C. W. C. Gough, C. J. Rooke, R. C. H. Tripp, andM. McC. Wilson (by proxy); H. L. Porter, A. G. H. Clay,John Clutton-Brock, A. L. Phillips, B. M. Wright, J. R.Bignall, B. R. Bray, M. E. Moore, J. M. Wilkin, G. A. Fowler,G. C. Pritchard, Derek Russell-Davis, C. H. C. Dent, andT. G. S. James.M.B.-C. E. Elliott and R. G. Bickford.

Society of Apothecaries of LondonAt recent examinations the following candidates were

successful :-Surgery.-N. B. Eastwood, J. B. Headley-Blythe, and R.

Rowlandson.Medicine.-H. B. 0. Cardew, E. M. E. Decottignies, N. B.

Eastwood, V. W. J. Hetreed, and E. S. Nicholson.Forensic Medicine.-H. B. 0. Cardew, E. M. E. Decottignies,

N. B. Eastwood, V. W. J. Hetreed, and E. S. Nicholson.Midwifery.-N. P. Desai, M. C. Mair, J. C. Scott, E. A. Spouse,

and P. P. Vaidya.

The following candidates, having completed the finalexamination, are granted the diploma of the societyentitling them to practise medicine, surgery, and mid-

wifery : H. B. 0. Cardew (Guy’s), E. M. E. Decottignies(King’s Coll. Hosp.), J. B. Headley-Blythe (Bart.’s),V. W. J. Hetreed (St. Mary’s), E. S. Nicholson (Oxfd andGuy’s), and R. Rowlandson (Camb. and Guy’s).University of WalesAt recent examinations at the Welsh National School

of Medicine the following candidates were successful :—

D.P.H.

Part II-Jennet Evans, Anne E. M. Herbert, and Mary M. M.Llewellyn.

International Congress of Comparative PathologyThe fourth International Congress of Comparative

Pathology will be held in Rome from May 15 to 20.Further information may be had from the hon. secretaryof the British national committee, Mr. Fred Bullock,LL.D., 9, Red Lion Square, London, W.C.I.

Royal Institution of Great BritainOn March 10, at 9 P.M., Prof. E. D. Adrian, F.R.S., will

deliver a Friday evening discourse at the Royal Institution,21, Albemarle Street, London, W.I. He will speak onthe development of the sense of hearing.Hunterian SocietyOn Thursday, Feb. 9, at 7.30 P.M., this society will

hold its annual banquet to commemorate the anniversaryof the birth of John Hunter. It will take place at theMay Fair Hotel, Berkeley Street, London, W.l, and theLord Mayor of London will be present.

The title of Mr. Sampson Handley’s Hunterianoration, to be delivered before the Royal College of

Surgeons at 4 P.M. on Feb. 14, will be Makers of JohnHunter.

Course on Industrial HygieneA short intensive course on industrial hygiene, including

industrial physiology and medical industrial psychology,will be held at the London School of Hygiene and TropicalMedicine, Keppel Street, W.C. 1, from Feb. 6 to 17. Furtherinformation may be had from the secretary of the school.

Postgraduate Courses in GermanyInternational postgraduate courses in the various

specialties will be held in Berlin, Vienna, Hamburg,Cologne, Munich, and other medical centres during 1939.Further particulars may be had from the bureau of theBerliner Akademie fur arztliche Fortbildung, Robert KochPlatz 7, Berlin, N.W.7.

Medical Society of Individual PsychologyThe annual dinner of this society was held at the

Florence Restaurant on Jan. 19, with Dr. H. C. Squirein the chair. Prof. John Macmurray, who proposed thetoast of The Society, asked his hosts why they calledthemselves " individual psychologists," for Adleriantheory always laid stress on the social character of humanmotives and behaviour. He thought the fundamentalhumility and broadmindedness which were its tenetscreated a favourable atmosphere for an association ofpeople who were capable of making a stand againstsectarianism and were willing to envisage a modificationof views they had hitherto held. He felt that this attitudewas of fundamental importance today, for we were partand parcel of a sick world and the centre of the troublewas always psychological. We were living in a periodof scientific development in human relations with oneanother and the only solution to our troubles lay in thatfield. Yet we resolutely turned our eyes away from anyquestion of changing ourselves and insisted that thedifficulties lay in the external world. At the beginningof the " Contrat Social " Rousseau said he would take menas they are and societies as they ought to be. We werestill saying the same today. But what was society, Prof.Macmurray asked, but people in relation to each other ?He often heard it said that all our troubles were economicbut why should economics be considered an objectivescience governed by inexorable laws ? Was it not reallya study of human behaviour in one particular field ? Thereal problem of our world was the rational ordering ofpersonal relationships and if we did not solve it our

civilisation would be thrown on the scrap-heap. Hethought that the society was peculiarly fitted to help inthis task and he wished it long life and prosperity. TheChairman, who said he rose as a simple squire amongprofessors and dukes, replied for the society, and Dr.Alexander Sandison welcomed the guests in a witty andgraceful speech. Mr. Ashley Dukes, who replied, confessed(without inhibition) that he enjoyed after-dinner speakingenormously, and proceeded to delight his audience andhimself.