Narrator with the american soldier goes american medicine, backing him up, with him in his advanced, in wartime and peace. The medical department carries on, fighting disease, healing and rehabilitating the sick and wounded, and working to search out disease vectors to prevent, detect, and control epidemics. To pursue this mission successfully, the medical department was backed up by a farflung network of laboratories stretching from north to south, east to west. Clinical, Public Health, and Research Laboratories were required everywhere. Diseases new to the army doctor were being encountered. New diagnostic procedures, methods of treatment and control had to be developed and evaluated. Operation and combat under extreme heat and cold produced a challenge to the medical department and its laboratories. Behind this vast medical Laboratory Organization which followed the armies to every distant outpost on our fighting fronts were the many divisions and services of the Surgeon Generals office. Although the Laboratory Division was concerned with every aspect of medical laboratory operation, Outstanding Service was contributed by other divisions of the preventative Medicine Service as well as the training and hospital divisions, personnel and supply services, the Army Medical Department research and graduate school, and the Army Institute of pathology. These organizations represented a coordinated effort which directed the operation of the armys Medical Laboratories. The first job was to train field and Hospital Laboratory unit as well as technical personnel. Alone,rseas assignments 217 General Hospitals, 196 station hospitals, 91 Evacuation Hospitals, and 99 Field Hospitals had to be organized and trained. Camping was conducted at berkeley, texas, camp crowder, missouri, carlisle barracks, pennsylvania, fort lewis, washington, and a camp in illinois. In addition to the overseas needs, hospitals and Laboratory Facilities in the interior had to be expanded. General hospitals increased from four to 65. 56 regional hospitals were established, 26 for army forces and 30 for army air forces. 30 station hospitals where required, 142 for the Army Service Forces and 158 for the army air forces. There were 10 Service Command laboratories. The medical department was based with the job of staffing, training, and equipping these installations where their wartime response ability. Enlisted personnel received training at the medical department and technician schools. Located at fitzsimmons General Hospital and nine other General Hospitals in addition to the army medical center. These men and women became specialized medical Laboratory Technicians whose loyal and able wartime record prominent civilian schools contributed to the training. Sanitary officers are scientists. That directedup multiple sections of our laboratory. They made significant contributions to Research Work. Types ofe four laboratories. Public Health Laboratory responsibilities were dedicated to 10 laboratories. Had nine, except others that had a different number. Served new york, new jersey, and delaware. Laboratoriesommand were to supplement the otherties not provided by laboratories. ,hey investigated outbreaks inspected facilities and personnel. Specialist. Ed , samples aren examined. Perform suchies examinations for units and other installations. Technicians are searching for bacteria. It might have come from an epidemic of dysentery. Cultures are examined. Section, it was not testson to make 2000 persepolis aday. A day. If when the reports came back, they determine the quality of the work. Food for army consumption had to meet high standards. They examine milk, dairy products, and meat. Some of the most interesting in itss performed chemistry and toxicology section. In instances where illness or death may have been questionable, bodily fluids were examined for alcohol content in the presence of metals. The Service Command labs with the army counterpart of Health Department laboratories, with broad responsibilities. The remaining three types of laboratories were primarily clinical. The General Hospital, the most headete and specialized, problem cases referred from overseas. Diseases, aserent wereas surgical problems, returned to the zone of interior. Infectionsnd wound necessitated the use of diagnostic procedures. , andrugs had come into use new methods were required to determine their effectiveness. New methods had to be developed to determine drug levels and ascertain concentrations for specific infections. An additional problem in the field of tissue diagnosis, the situation was acute because of a , making of pathologist adequate staffing impossible. Use of theeconomic 19hologists available, centers were established, in the larger and strategically located General Hospitals. Maintaineclose communication ws maintained, consultation on was providedsis each installation. The third type of laboratory was hospital. L providednal hospital Chemical Services complete in every respect. The procedures here are representative of the work done. Techniciansualified to staff laboratories and hospitals, onthejob training was given. Was the station hospital lab. Here the procedures performed varied greatly and was determined by the size and location of the hospital. Laboratories, a smallscale service was provided, in addition to routine clinical pathology. The army Medical Laboratories trained and developed, and went toward to face battle conditions overseas. Although constant revisions and improvisations were necessary to , thethe warfare organization is presented as a guide in one department manual. The mediterranean theater presents a good example of organization in a theater of operation. In the combat sound, the evacuation Hospital Laboratory provides facilities sufficient for routine pathology. In italy, the eighth Evacuation Hospital was equipped for includingexamination, blood typing and cross matching, hemoglobin determination, and malaria diagnosis. It was able to perform field examinations and tests on spinal fluid. Although the manual places the Field Hospital in the communication sound, in the mediterranean, some were used in the combat zone. The 15th is representative of such a hospital and laboratory. Assignment,f the Field Hospitals held their patients for short periods, the range was limited. The mobile laboratory in the field supported the field Evacuation Hospitals and provided facilities for other nonmedical service organizations. Armyuld be assigned to an or communication zone. The medical laboratory is composed of headquarters and professional sections that make up a laboratory. Field Public Healthtype laboratory, it performs epidemiological studies, investigations, surveys , and is concerned with routine analyses. They are carried out for all field units requiring services. To serve these units, a system was worked out. After making rounds, the courier bring specimens to laboratory. In the chemistry section of the laboratory, beverages are being analyzed. Tubes are being prepared for water analysis. Laboratorymedical illustrates the versatility of such an installation. Were undertaken. Army and civilian food handlers were surveyed for pathogens. When examinations had been completed, reports are distributed by the courier. The medical laboratory maintains mobile units. Headquarterss the for the study of hepatitis. These mobile units could be used to supplement services of a Hospital Laboratory. The medical laboratory also serves the station hospitals, located in the communication zone. The medical Corps Officer is devoted fulltime to the laboratory and is assigned as chief of service. Because definitive treatments are given, facilities are more complete than those in other hospitals. Different examinations can be performed. Pathology section provides its own specimens. The most complete facilities in the theater are in the General Hospitals. Patients are referred here from ,he evacuation, field, station and other hospitals for treatment. Variety of clinical material necessitated a more complete laboratory. Diagnosis can be made on frozen tissue. The pathologist examines the slide and can render an immediate diagnosis. Tests are used for the identification of dysentery and salmonella. Fever and other cultures, tests, amoeba cultures, and tests for bacterial resistance to drugs can be made here. The chemistry section is prepared to perform cholesterol and other determination, in addition to other requested determinations. Technique forfate a bloodspecific remedy is used to assist with the management of shock. Where a large concentration is required, and economy of assistance is affected by a Hospital Center. Special responsibilities are delegated to each hospital. One General Hospital performs required by all the General Hospitals in the center. The 12 Hospital Center was composed of the 55th and other General Hospitals. The laboratory of the 55th was superbly equipped. Section is being prepared for examination. , cultures are inspected for bacterial growth. Permitted labins work 24 hours a day. Complete as the service was in italy and other theaters, there was needed a higher echelon laboratory to perform other examinations and investigations of important problems. This need was fulfilled but the medical general laboratory, which provided facilities comparable to the research and graduate school and the institute pathology. Laboratory general was assigned to each of the four major theaters. The 15th was assigned to the mediterranean theater. The mission was primarily epidemiological, chemical and research proms were also investigated. The blood bank, part of the laboratory, supplied most of the blood used in the theater. These tests are being voted for truck shipment to a forward area. Lets let the Commanding Officer describe the work. Work of our unit and inse it serves is integrated the mediterranean theater of operations. That work consists of diagnostics, support and supervision of other laboratory units, epidemiological studies, and research. Research has in therapy,ria and gangrene, shock, and jaundice. Center, fieldstic and Laboratory Investigations is innate from the medical general laboratory by virtue of their staff in the range of equipment and supplies allotted to them. In the 15th general laboratory, research on a disease produce data on which a new concept is now based. And enlisted technicians from other laboratories were referred to the medical general laboratory for training. Performingogist is an autopsy for medical officers from the Clinical Services and Laboratory Officers for training. Section,ochemistry studies on hepatitis and the use of drugs in malaria were made. Other sections also assisted in the studies. Sectioneriology contributed significantly to the study of pathogens. Discovered by this laboratory. As a diagnostic center, it covered tissue and clinical pathology. Because of the Research Work , it constituted an important part of the laboratory. They did all the work making up charts and recording unusual operations and diseases peculiar to the countries. Service,of courier hospitals and inspections of laboratory units, the 15th medical general lab was able to maintain contact with all installations in theater. Maintained close communication with the Surgeon Generals office, the department of research and graduate school, and the institute of pathology. This was the general plan of the laboratory service. Problemsparticular required detailed investigation. Missions were sent out by the epidemiological board, such as italy in 1945, to investigate diphtheria. Commissionyphus, a established laboratories in personneldispatched to europe. Teams assisted in the control of the epidemic. Malaria was a problem as troops moved across north africa, italy, and neighboring islands, so units were dispatched to operate with the army. Activities in corsica were typical of the work. Every preventive measure was used, including ddt biplanes. By airplanes. Problem,as a greater areas had to be kept under observation by the control unit. The Solomon Islands proved a severe test for these units. They searched for mosquito vectors and determine their habitat. The men took medicine, repellent, and hung nets. And, every method of sprain, dusting, boiling, and training was used. Typhus proved a serious disease hazard in the pacific in india burma theater. Since much less was known, extensive studies had to be made of the disease in the animal hosts and insect vectors. Rodents and other mammals were investigated as the animal reservoir for this disease. Mice and other surface insects were studied as possible vectors. And surfaceirds parasites were undertaken. These studies added to our knowledge of typhus, but also the habits of possible vectors of other diseases. The study of the insect vectors of typhus involve hazards, since the disease is dangerous and occasionally carries a high mortality. Field investigators had to observe strict precautions to avoid exposure. , laboratories in the pacific had more problems, but they were able to devote more time to investigate such diseases. The pacific counterpart did not differ greatly from installations active in europe, except they were modified to diagnosed these diseases. The 18th medical general , by virtuein hawaii of a trained staff in specialized equipment, contributed significantly to our knowledge of these diseases. The epidemiological branch worked in cooperation with the theater surgeons office. Hazards weresease made after enemy forces were neutralized in an island secured, but before command was established, including an investigation of water supplies, insect vectors, and diseases current among enemy forces and native populations. Such medical and sanitary surveys were made of multiple islands. They served practical, immediate, and future purposes. The 18th medical general lab was capable of extensive operations, as those required for investigation of the hawaiian influenza epidemic of 1945. The procedure for the Lab Diagnosis is demonstrated here. A special study of hayfever was required, because new hazards were encountered. Pollen extracts were prepared. Usedmade into solutions for diagnosis and treatment. The evaluation of ddt and other agents in the control of diseases required the development of new methods of trapping and rearing mosquitoes and other insect vectors. Here, flies are raised for this purpose. These and other insects in development were subjected to new agents. Back, lets stop off in puerto rico, headquarters comprising the antilles department. They are organized as departments, rather than theaters of operation, and were served by these labs, comparable in size and scope to the Service Command labs in the zone of interior. These laboratories provided the facilities of a Service Command lab and those of a pathologic center as well. Study tests were maintained for the training of pathologist, and officers and enlisted were given onthejob training. Early in the war, malaria and dengue fever were problems in the caribbean. Played anlogist Important Role in containing these diseases. The laboratory performed at a significant blame of surveys. In washington, the office of the surgeon general, the Army Medical Department research and graduate school, and the institute of pathology cam came data, specimens, and reports from all over the world. From hawaii, report of an outbreak suspected of being influenza. Cultures fromco, an outbreak of dysentery are sent in. Assessment, a tissue aought positive from nicest. Another disease. From panama, salmonella. Onediate action is required these specimens and reports. Diagnosis, information on control, and requested data are radioed to these overseas installations. To the Army Institute of pathology was given the job of establishing an armylike plan of diagnostic service in pathology. The institute consists of four subdivisions, pathology, the registry pathology, the Illustration Service, and the medical museum. Pathologicalw of specimens is conducted by the department of pathology. When cases are received, they are sent to the preparation room , each assigned to a staff member who assumes responsibility for the case. Referredary, specimens to a laboratory where microscopic slides are made. Next, they are examined by pathologist and consultants. Since Army Regulations autopsy cases before did to the institute, as well as tumors in