Faculty Bibliography

In pyloric stenosis, the vomitus generally is not green because bile is not present. The absence of bile is a signal to the doctor that the vomiting may stem from an obstruction in the stomach and not in the bowel. Another feature of pyloric stenosis is visible evidence of the normal stomach contractions, called peristalsis, but in excessively active form. These waves cross the abdomen from left to right and are most prominent in pyloric stenosis immediately after feeding and just before vomiting. As in many diagnoses, the doctor's hands can be more valuable than any technological tool. In examining a patient suspected of having pyloric stenosis, pediatricians often wait until after the infant has vomited. Then they gently push their fingers to feel in the region about two inches below the lower edge of the right rib cage and just to the far side of the rectus muscle on the front of the abdomen. There, in cases of pyloric stenosis, they can usually detect a knob of tissue that feels like an olive and that moves with the fingers. The thickened muscle is not painful when it is touched.

Some documents are laced with harsh accusations about ''poor judgment,'' ''character assassination,'' ''ethical insensitivity'' and ''unacceptable standards.'' The terms reflect the tenor of the dispute between Yale and Columbia officials over the aggressiveness and propriety of the actions taken at Yale in investigating charges of unethical behavior in research there, and over the judgment of Columbia officials in calling for Dr. Felig to resign. On Aug. 1, about eight months after he was selected as Columbia's new chief of medicine, a six-member Columbia committee unanimously recommended that Dr. Felig not be continued in his positions because he had ''failed to communicate'' the allegations of plagiarism to members of the Columbia search committee that had nominated him for the posts, and because of his ''failure to grasp the significance of incriminating facts.'' The Columbia panel also said that Dr. [Philip Felig] had shown ''poor judgment'' in proposing Dr. Soman as a member of the Columbia faculty last January. Dr. Felig replied that he failed to understand this charge, noting that the chief physician at Yale, Dr. Samuel O. Thier, ''who was familiar with all details of Dr. Soman's conduct, was vigorously attempting to persuade Dr. Soman to remain at Yale.''

In another, the journal Science reported that five papers published by Dr. Elias A.K. Alsabti, a Jordanian who has worked in several medical centers in this country, were ''demonstrable plagiarisms, and more than 55 others are suspect.'' Leading journals were among those that published the research. Dr. Alsabti has denied pirating the papers. Some researchers say that ''fudging data'' is common in preparing scientific reports, with investigators purposely omitting pieces of data that do not fit the overall picture. And, while such omissions go against the tradition for scientists to report all findings, most are too small to materially affect the conclusions drawn from the experiments. Presumably they are done to make the findings look better, but some evasions must have a serious effect. At the same time, researchers are pressured by the ''publish or perish'' philosophy. Promotions in medical schools are based much more on a scientist's publications than on a doctor's ability to teach or care for patients. Yet the quantity, not quality, of research publications often is the key determinant in faculty promotions because members of review committees usually do not take time to thoroughly review each candidate's full publication list.

In fact, although novels have popularized the notion that researchers keep laboratory diaries, there are no general requirements for such logs

''There hasn't really been any systematic research in either animals or patients,'' Dr. Carl Kupfer, head of the National Eye Institute, a unit of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md., said in an interview. The National Advisory Eye Council recently expressed ''grave concern'' about widespread unqualified publicity for what it deemed an experimental operation. The council, which is the Government's top vision research advisory group, urged restraint on the part of both ophthalmologists and nearsighted people, particularly because all but a few cases of myopia can be satisfactorily corrected by concave prescription glasses. The council urged limiting the operation to properly designed experiments on humans by responsible investigators. To help establish the efficacy and safety of the operation, the eye council urged scientifically controlled experiments on humans. A group of ophthalmologists from eye centers in 10 American cities has just submitted such a grant proposal to the National Eye Institute. Dr. Kupfer said the processing of the proposal would be ''expedited'' because of the importance of myopia and the controversy.

[Sigmund Freud] recognized that psychiatrists were no exception to the rule that people need vacations to relax. Yet, many psychiatrists have had difficulty in taking vacations. And some doctors have used the interruption of the vacation period to prove to their patients ''what a great doctor I am.'' Further, medical-school professors have taught generations of doctors that patients' considerations come before their own

Dr. Breslow's cancer test, known as the Breslow method, is now used along with another, called the Clark method, to determine the extent of spread of the melanoma within the layers of the skin and to help determine the potential spread elsewhere in the body. A patient's prognosis and course of treatment hinge on results of these methods. Dr. Breslow is survived by his wife, the former Ruth Weilerstein, and three daughters, Faith R. of Boston, Abbey Breslow-Kellogg of South Hadley, Mass., and Rachel D. of Washington.

Now, the practice of leaving patients to cope on their own during August, when many psychiatrists vacation at Martha's Vineyard, Cape Cod, the Hamptons and other resorts, has made psychiatrists the butt of jokes. A cardinal rule of medicine is that doctors leaving town ''sign out'' to colleagues who can provide backup service. Some psychiatrists introduce patients to the colleague who is providing the backup, and occasionally they make appointments with a substitute psychiatrist for patients. Dr. [Sigmund Freud] recognized that psychiatrists were no exception to the rule that people need vacations to relax. Yet, many psychiatrists have had difficulty in taking vacations. And some doctors have used the interruption of the vacation period to prove to their patients ''what a great doctor I am.'' Further, medical school professors have taught generations of doctors that patients' considerations come before their own.

Mr. Queen is a patient at the United States Air Force Hospital in Wiesbaden, West Germany. The hospital's chief neurologist, Maj. Herminio Cuervo, expressed the new optimism yesterday when he said: ''In general, one proceeds on the assumption that the patient will lead a normal life.'' Often, symptoms may occur for up to four days and then stabilize for days or weeks. Most patients improve somewhat, often to complete recovery, after 6 to 15 weeks. ''In general,'' Major Cuervo said, ''if a symptom has not disappeared in two years, it will remain.''

Dr. Warren, one of the world's leading medical experts on radiation, began worrying about the beneficial and harmful effects of radiation long before the first atomic bomb exploded in World War II. As an officer in the Navy, Dr. Warren aided and studied the survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and is credited with having made the first systematic study of radioactive fallout. ''He's like an old suit,'' a colleague said. ''There is no pretension whatever. You'd miss him in a crowd, walk right by him. But when you hear him start to talk, you won't leave.'' ''The use of radioactive tracers available in a multiplicity of forms has virtually revolutionized many of our techniques,'' he said in 1950. ''It has brought some problems that seemed difficult or impossible of solution by other techniques within the possibility of solution.''