INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF MEDICINE.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1639, 4 January 1913, Page 3

INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF MEDICINE.

A GREAT GATHERING NEXT TEAR. The international Congress of Medicine which is to bo held in London _ next August will be ono of the largest international gatherings held in England, for many years,-says "Tho Times." Its. importance is sufficiently, indicated by the mere names and tho numbers of those who will tako-part in it. The organising committee expect-that at least 5000 medical men ,-will bo present as delegates. Of these, about 2000 will probably come.from Great Britain and other English-speaking countries; about- 10C0 from. Germany,. 1000 from' France, and 1000 from .other countries'. For its largest meetings the congross will, assemblo on, three days in tho Albert-Hall.- The sectional meetings will bo .very,-numerous,-as there arc 2G sections arid sub-sections, most of which.will meet daily; tho meeting-- places must, therefore, ncoessnrily be somewhat scattered in various parts of London.^ The congress assembles once in every four years, and is received in turn in all the capitals of Europe. Itwas last held in 1909 in Budapest. Like most gatherings of the kind, it. tends steadily, to increase in numbers and'importance, and it is considered that the-coming congress may very likely surpass its forerunners: in'tbeso respects. Ii will at least show _ a marked advance oil the- last meeting in London, in 1831, the seventh, meeting of the.congress, when the'delegates numbered about. 3000. The present is tho seventeenth meeting, and the increasing specialisation, in tho science of medicino is illustrated by tho fact that'.tho sections for tho discus-, sion of particular branches of medicine, such ,ns physiology, anatomy, and. bacteriology, have,grown from 15 in. 1881 to 28 at the next mooting. The. congress of 1881, over which Sir James Paget presided, was notable for the presence: of Huxley, who spoko on' tho subject of heredity, and of Pasteur.' While,tho programme of: tho coming congress doe's not. perhaps contain any names so great as these, nearly every distinguished man in JBritish medicine is among the, officers of. the congress, tho presidents of the sections, or tho contributors of papers.