Faculty Bibliography

''It is an important step,'' Dr. Karl M. Johnson, the company's medical director, said in an interview. He added that much more research was needed before it could be determined whether this or any drug would conquer the disease. ''It won't surprise me if some people who took ribavirin in the study eventually will come down with AIDS,'' he said. Dr. Frank E. Young, Commissioner of Food and Drugs, said in an interview that his agency had started to review the summary data of the experiments it received on Monday, expected to receive more, and ''would leave no stone unturned'' to determine ''as expeditiously as possible'' the drug's safety and efficacy. But he said that because of the preliminary nature of the data, he did not want to ''raise false hopes.'' Mathilde Krim, who is co-chairman of the American Foundation for AIDS Research of New York, said the ''promising, but not conclusive'' report ''raises the question of why federally sponsored AIDS treatment evaluation units did not move much more swiftly to begin a larger, more exhaustive evaluation of ribavirin.''

''Things couldn't be better,'' Dr. [John Hutton] said. ''The President feels great.'' Obviously buoyed by the news, Mrs. [Reagan] told reporters outside the hospital that results of the CAT scans were ''wonderful.'' Asked if the President had received a clean bill of health, Mrs. Reagan said, ''Yes.'' Good News on CAT Scans Mr. [Speakes] said today that the good news of the results was disclosed earlier than expected because ''the Reagans wanted to get it out.'' Mr. Speakes said he issued the doctor's statement ''when the Reagans called me and said, 'We're extremely pleased with our news.' ''

''The mineralization of bone and size and consistency of the liver were comparable with that of a man much younger than the President,'' Dr. [John Hutton] added. ''This evening's post operative blood tests and vital signs are normal.'' Nancy Reagan, the President's wife, told reporters outside the Bethesda Naval Hospital tonight that results of the CAT scans, which are computerized X-rays, were ''wonderful.'' Asked if the President received a clean bill of health, Mrs. Reagan said, ''Yes.'' Senators [Bob Dole] and [Robert C. Byrd] said Mr. Reagan was in good spirits. ''He sounded pretty chipper to me,'' Senator Dole said. And Senator Byrd, who turns 70 this year, joked, ''I hope I sound as well when they work on my prostate 30 years from now.'' Afternoon Meeting With Bush

LEAD: President Reagan underwent what White House officials described as ''very routine'' surgery today to relieve obstruction from an enlarged prostate in an operation that lasted ''about an hour'' at Bethesda Naval Hospital. President Reagan underwent what White House officials described as ''very routine'' surgery today to relieve obstruction from an enlarged prostate in an operation that lasted ''about an hour'' at Bethesda Naval Hospital. Mr. [Larry Speakes] said that Mr. Reagan had taken no pain medication after the prostate surgery and had expressed no need for any. ''If he does,'' Mr. Speakes said, ''it would be nothing more than Tylenol or aspirin.''

WASHINGTON - President Reagan underwent what White House officials described as ``very routine`` surgery Monday to relieve obstruction from an enlarged prostate. ``The obstructing portion of the prostate was removed; no complications were encountered. The President's general condition is excellent,`` White House spokesman Larry Speakes said Monday night. Shortly after surgery, Reagan signed correspondence and reviewed his daily intelligence report, Speakes said. Reagan's wife, Nancy, and the White House chief of staff, Donald T. Regan, visited the President in his hospital room. The Reagan children had spoken with Mrs. Reagan, the White House said

After today's procedures, Col. John Hutton of the Army, the White House physician, said in a statement that the results of the tests ''all were normal.'' He also said ''the colonoscopy went smoothly'' and that immediately after the medical checkup, Mr. [Nancy Reagan], who will be 76 years old next month, ''began reading briefing papers on the Presidential decision-making agenda.'' Dr. Hutton, in his statement, said that the newly found polyps ''show no evidence of a recurrence of the cancer found in July 1985.'' Other physicians not connected with Mr. Reagan's case said that while new cancerous polyps could develop, a recurrence or spread from the one that was removed in 1985 was not likely be found in new polyps but rather elsewhere, such as in the liver, lungs or lymph nodes in the abdomen and pelvis. Another Crucial Test Albert R. Brashear, the deputy White House spokesman, said in answer to a question that Dr. Hutton's statement meant that ''we saw no evidence of the recurrence of the cancer'' in the colonoscopy and the chest X-rays. ''If we had found evidence of recurrence of the cancer,'' he said, ''it would have been noted in the statement.''

''Something could show up,'' said Dr. Sidney J. Winawer, an expert in colon cancer at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York. ''He certainly is in that period when it could.'' Recurrence and spread of the colon cancer, if it did occur, could have ominous implications for Mr. [Reagan]'s long-term survival. The British Medical Journal, noting the lack of an accurate way of detecting recurrent colon cancer at its earliest stage, said in an editorial: ''Many patients who die from cancer of the bowel have previously undergone what was hoped to have been a 'curative' resection, only to return with lethal recurrent or metastatic disease.'' The American Cancer Society estimates that colon cancer, which is the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States, killed 51,800 Americans last year. Awake During Prostate Surgery Generally speaking the medical community is optimistic about the President's health. Physicians who have cared for him have been struck by his resiliency, noting how well he came through chest surgery after he was shot and the colon operation. And Dr. Ralph Bookman, who gave Mr. Reagan allergy shots in Los Angeles last week, said: ''He looks remarkably well.''