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Bulk of the series includes accounts and correspondence related to the operation of Duke Pathological Service, Duke University School of Medicine's laboratory and pathological examinations for smaller hospitals and private physicians to aid in the diagnosis or treatment of illness or injury, or in the case of autopsy, to obtain cause of death. Account books and correspondence reveal difficulties in getting compensation for pathological services and other information about small, regional hospitals, especially in North Carolina. Materials date from 1924 to 1960.

Series is divided into two subseries: Personal and Professional Correspondence. The organizational scheme was born out of the original ordering of the collection and because of time constraints and the seemingly logical arrangement, the material was left divided as it was found. An effort was made to list any significant content in all files on the folder tab. Some records were removed to the Restricted Files series and labeled with a similar file name. Attempts were made to note the removal on the outside of the Correspondence folder. Materials date from 1924 to 1978.

Series is organized by autopsy number with significant gaps. Instances where a single autopsy case number has records with correspondence, reports, and statistics are rare. The statistics files are incomplete; however, they are informative. The gaps in this series should not obscure the importance of autopsy. Evidence exists throughout the collection to suggest that the Pathology department was centered around autopsy. Autopsy was the basis for determining not just the disease processes but, also, the life history of the sick individual and was therefore the chief means of educating residents and integral to the teaching of year two medical students. Diagnosis for patients throughout the healthcare system ran through the pathology lab and understood through the reports it generated. Additionally, research was "stimulated by observations at autopsy." Surgical pathological cases were relegated to the Restricted Series when necessary under HIPAA guidelines. Graphic images and content are noted on folder tabs when possible. Practices relating to Segregation are evident. Materials date from 1925 to 1959.