Talk:Paper - The development of the sympathetic nervous system in man

ALBERT KUNTZ

PROFESSOR ALBERT KUNTZ AND AMERICAN ANATOMY

The late Professor Albert Knntz, a member of the faculty of St. Louis University for 44 years and director of its department of anatomy holds the distmction of being a pioneer in the field of morphology of the autonomic neivous system. Some believe that pioneers have opportunities trust upon them but more likely, opportumties ever present are open to those who have the vision and the will to accept them Let it be said that Professor Kuntz after his initiation into this field knew that it would be his life’s work and by his persistent efforts through the years he became to anatomists the world over, an authority on the autonomic neivous system For Professor Kuntz, as it should be for any scientist who had closed a long and active career, it is not too early to ask what contributions has he made in his chosen profession The answer can be given readily because without being so designated, it can be said that he conducted throughout his years as a departmental director an “anatomical institute” which emphasized the autonomic nervous system This ‘ ‘ institute ’ ’ was not glamorous , it did not advei tise itself Its support for years was wholly from the University and even in recent years received only meager outside support, largely because that support was not requested It sought little for itself and therefore anyone who became associated with it was there at his own request or because he was essential to the conduct of the department of anatomy It can be said that the “institute” thrived particularly with reference to the studies on the autonomic nervous svstem because of the vigorous personal efforts of Professor Kuntz The department of anatomy which he directed, was well ordered and he attempted to conduct it vdth a minimum of tension He respected the teaching demands for students in the Schools of Medicine, Dentistry or Nnrsing and in the Graduate School, and times spent in the lecture room or laboratory were obligations Professor Kuntz himself never shghted a student in the classroom. The teaching materials were adequate but simple, and emphasis was always given to fundamentals In that regard the students piofited because a firm but fundamental background is most essential. The departmental staff which he was permitted to assemble was no moie than necessary for conducting the teaching load and for participating in some research. Professor Kuntz conducted his department and its activities with a strong regard foi anatomy as a discipline important in itself In many 1 espects this viewpoint was healthful because a firm grounding in morphology, even when taught for itself, left every student of medical science with a foundation upon which he could base all of his future study and learning. Attitudes toward the field of anatomy are changing at the present time There IS a constant effort on the part of some to shorten and concentrate the subject material of anatomy. There are repeated efforts to correlate and to associate with other disciplines This revolution, however, leaves many with thoughtful questions as to the final results Piofessor Kuntz was of the old school, maybe “old fashioned” in his ideas but he was willing to have the newer ideas tested. Only time will tell whether the ideas of those who might have been considered staid in their concepts may be reinstated. It is a compliment to the methods of Professor Kuntz to observe his former students as the product of his teaching. Several thousand students in health sciences have passed under his supervision. Prom Professor Kuntz they received basic training in anatomy, and most likely much of their orientation needed for further study in the School of Medicine It is most satisfying that Piofessor Kuntz and his staff have been singled out on

many occasions for a personal appreciation of what they did and what they taught Professor Knntz’s conduct of investigations on the autonomic nervous system has been exemplary. Agam they were fundamental and were done without the use of elaborate equipment, but they were to examine every facet of the autonomic nervous system Mainly they were morphological because that is what he thought that they should be Fellow staff members and graduate students whom he selected through the years were made aware of the problems of autonomic structure which needed further study, and it was such early acquaintance, that produced interest among those who became members of the departmental staff Very often when staff members or graduate students would come to him with what they thought would be an “astounding” new discovery Professor Kuntz would sit back in his chair and exclaim, “ well, what did you expect^” The autonomic nervous system IS known to every morphologist and to eveiy climcian but its intricacies to many are often vague In the department of Professor Kimtz, vagueness as to the characteristics of this system was absent Frequent dissections, operative piocedures, microscopic studies, the attention given to literature and the timely discussions, all led to intimate acquaintance and familiarity. Each year one or more published papers on the autonomic system discussed the thinking in i egard to the current subjects of interest and question. His reviews published for a number of years gave a written survey of the current literature. His textbook on the autonomic neivous system encompassed the subject as broadly as it ever has been done in the English language Textbooks of a medical type grow old and the material after a few years becomes antiquated but Professor Kuntz ’s four editions will ever be consulted foi the status of the subject during his time

What stimulus will American teaching and American investigation in anatomy derive from Professor Kuntz ’s work*? The passing of a leader in the field is often the signal for the death Iniell of a subject Let us hope that this is not true for the autonomic nervous system Bather let us hope that Professor Kuntz ’s efforts are only a beginning and from them there will rise a broad and more collective effort of autonomic investigation Even though he may not have set up an “institute” where collective research efforts were possible, his example should be followed. Perhaps in the future, the dream of the autonomic nervous system being studied by a “team” of neuroanatomists, neurophysiologists, neuropharmacologists, neuropathologists, neurochemists and neuromicrobiologists as well as neuroclinicians may become a reality.

Keruit Christeksek

Talk:Paper - The development of the sympathetic nervous system in man

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