A protein fraction with prolactin bioactivities was obtained from the culture medium of human fetal pituitary tissue in long term cultures and termed Pasteels human prolactin (PHP) for convenience. An antiserum was prepared against this human prolactin and used to develop a radioimmunoassay for the material in human plasma. The antigen available (220 µg)was tested against antisera to human growth hormone and to human placental lactogen and in radioimmunoassays for these hormones. The results suggested that the human prolactin fraction contained some immunoreactive human growth hormone (1%). The resulting antibodies in the antihuman prolactin serum could be neutralized by the addition of human growth hormone. The human prolactin also generated antibodies, binding ¹³¹I-labelled human prolactin, which were not neutralized by human growth hormone. This binding was inhibited by plasma from a normal male, 2 normal females and by plasma from a lactating woman after breast feeding. An increase in plasma concentration of the inhibitor, immunologically similar to the human prolactin fraction, was obtained after phenothiazine injection. In the 7 plasma samples tested for human prolactin only 1 contained a detectable concentration of immunoreactive growth hormone. Immunoreactive human placental lactogen (human chorionic somatomammotropin) or any material cross-reacting with anti-HCS serum was undetectable in these plasma samples by a sensitive radioimmunoassay. It is suggested that human plasmas contain detectable amounts of a material immunologically similar to a prolactin fraction isolated from tissue cultures of fetal pituitaries. The fraction and the plasma inhibitor are distinguishable by immunoassay from human growth hormone and from human placental lactogen.

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It will be seen that 16 of the 28 died of injuries to the chest and upper abdomen, and that, of these, eight had died of a most unusual injury-rupture of the aorta in its descending thoracic part. I have seen only three other cases of death from traumatic rupture of the aorta in 25,000 necropsies, and, of these three, one was the radio-operator of the Dakota which crashed at Mill Hill a fortnight earlier; the other two resulted from crushing injuries to the chest in traffic accidents. The radio-operator of the Viking was among those dying of rupture of the aorta.The ruptures of the aorta were associated with fractures of the ribs, disruption of the intercostal muscles, fractures of the spine, or laceration and bruising of the anterior surface of the liver. These injuries were,-in my opinion, caused by acute flexion of the body over the safety-belt. A similar mechanism could well have accounted for the findings in the eight who died from laceration of the heart, lungs, or liver and spleen. It would also appear that had these travellers been seated with their backs "to the engine" and supported by cushioned upholstery these particular types of injury might have been avoided.It is clearly of little consolation to escape a sudden death only to die in a conflagration, but not all crashed aircraft catch fire, and presumably with advances in foam-protected petrol tanks the danger of fire will diminish.Witnesses were not available to tell how the passengers in the aircraft were seated, but a study of the injuries revealed a remarkable similarity between the injuries of seven pairs of victims who might reasonably be expected to be sitting together. Thus two married couples all had ruptures of the aorta, another couple both had ruptures of the liver and spleen, while two men who had good reason to be seated together were the least severely injured-both sustained head injuries only, of a severity which suggested that had the speed of impact been a little less they might well have escaped. This is pure hypothesis, but suggests that certain parts of an aircraft are more dangerous than others in the event of a crasha fact which is possibly obvious, and well supported by the escape of the steward of the Dakota at Mill Hill and the stewardess of the Viking, who were both in their correct positions in the tail of the aircraft. ConclusionsSuch a disaster as the crash of a passenger-carrying aircraft presents special problems to a pathologist called on to perform necropsies.(1) The post-mortem examination of air-crash victims requires a small but efficient organization to facilitate identification and burial.(2) Blood-urea estimations are of no value in estimating the time of death.( (Ramon, 1922). Similarly, a -flocculating system of decreasing amounts of horse serum and a constant amount of rabbit antiserum shows a prozone where the antigen-antibody complex is soluble in an excess of antigen (Dean and Webb, 1926). Many other examples have been published since these original reports.It is well known, of course, that the optimal ...

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