History of the Chicago Pathology Society¹
The Chicago Pathology Society as formally founded in 1881. At that time the West Chicago Medical Society became the Chicago Pathological Society, with the object of "the cultivation of the science and art of medicine with special reference to pathology and morbid anatomy". Archives of the Society date back to 1889. Specimens discussed at early meetings reflected the interests and concerns of the times: Tubercular disease of the Knee-Joints, Addison's Disease of the Suprarenal Bodies, Pneumoniac Gangrene, etc.
Several restructurings of the Society and its affiliations with other Medical Societies in the Chicago area occured over the next century. Affiliations with both the Chicago Medical Society and the Institute of Medicine of Chicago were formed, many of which persist today. In 1981 the Society changed its name from the Chicago Pathological Society to the Chicago Pathology Society, the name which is currently used.
In 1908 the Society established a meeting format which has persisted to the present time: dinner at 6:00 p.m. prior to a formal meeting at 7:00 p.m. on the second Monday of the month. Programs are varied and stress aspects of both Anatomic and Clinical Pathology that are both relevant to daily practice and which are also on the cutting edge of laboratory medicine. Speakers are drawn both from the local area as well as rom across the country. An Annual Slide Seminar is held in May of each year, focusing on a single area of Anatomic Pathology, conducted by a recognized authority.
1. Mason, J. et al. The Chicago Pathology Society, An Affiliate of the Institute of Medicine, A Historical Perspective,Proc. Inst. Mec. Chgo. 1988, 41:112-113