The Seal

OF THE INTERNATIONAL ACADEMY OF PATHOLOGY (IAP)

In 1956 the Secretary submitted a proposed Seal of the Academy. A committee appointed to make recommendations on the Seal included Drs. F. W. Wiglesworth and Lall G. Montgomery.

Dr. Wiglesworth described in Laboratory Investigation 10:1, 1961, the four years it took to get approval of the seal as follows:

"After nearly four years of intermittent thought, rough sketches, much correspondence, many changes and alterations, the seal of the Academy was approved this year in the form seen above and on the cover of this issue of Laboratory Investigation. This, I have been told, is an unusually short time, for such designs are so much a matter of individual opinion that it is extremely difficult to reach a final decision; even then, universal approval is impossible. As Chairman of the Seal Committee I owe much to Mr. Alan Beddoe of Ottawa the heraldist), Dr. John t. Meyer, II, of West Hartford, Conn., and Dr. F. K. Mostofi and his group of artists at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology. Without them, this seal would not exist.

The basic problem was to symbolize pathology, learning (education), and internationalism. The first is represented by the Marshall-Hooke microscope (c. 1704), which was chosen because of the beauty of line, as well as to give the seal an historic perspective. This instrument is mounted on a ball-and-socket joint, with a condensing lens fitted on a jointed arm (where one would expect the mirror); above this is placed the slide holder. The lamp of learning is a standard heraldic symbol and represents the educational, teaching, and investigative aspects of the Academy. "International" is symbolized by the earth with its continents and oceans. The "I.A.M.M. 1906" represents the International Association of Medical Museums, the original name of the Academy and its founding date.

For better or worse, the Academy now has an official seal, an event that may be taken as a sign of quality and maturity."

Attendance at the annual meetings increased rapidly during the 1950's, from 30 in 1951 to 100 in 1952 and to 800 in 1957. The total assets also increased from $3,991.48 in 1950 to $25,730.97 by 1958. This was indeed a decade of growth and development. (Personal communications: Harold L. Stewart, F. K. Mostofi, C. H. Binford, N. Kaufman, G. Cunningham, James E. Ash, Jesse Edwards, F. W. Wiglesworth)