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Seventy years have passed since the death of dr Piotr Borsukiewicz. He spent 9 out of his 22 years of work in Lublin (1909-1918) being the head of the paediatric hospital (1911-1918), the member of the Lublin Medical Society, the president and vice president of some other public service organizations and inscribed himself in letters of gold in the history of medicine and people of Lublin. He worked and lived in the difficult years of two wars (1904-1905 and 1914-1918), the rapid development of medical sciences and the separation of medical specialties. His diligence, loyalty to the Hippocratic code and the instructions of dr W. Biegański as well as to the patriotic dictates resulted in the union of the meaning of his own existence with the deep belief in man and the favourite work as a physician. Helping the poor and those in need he contracted spotted fever but belittled his complaints and died on April 12, 1918 in Lublin. He left us the special patterns of the ideal medical care which are still alive today, so non omnis moriar.

Histochemical and histological investigations revealed that 9 and 12 months after gonadectomy morphological and physiological changes in adrenal glands, pituitary glands, parathyroid glands and thyroid gland are still observed. They result not only from changes in hormonal environment but also from adaptation abilities of the body as a whole to newly created stress stimulus.

The studies of the effect of the soil dust on the cornea and the conjunctiva of the experimental animals have been performed. The rats were divided into 3 experimental groups and 1 control group. The animals were given 3 different, selected at random, kinds of soil dust to the conjunctival sac 3 times daily for 7 days. The results show that the soil dust has the negative effect on the organ of sight. The cornea is particularly sensitive to the action of dust, which evidenced itself by the significant changes in the histochemical reactions.

There was examined pulmonary tissue of white rats, which had been administered intratrachealy a single dose of the respirable fraction of ashes sample from 6 different power stations elektrohasting plants and hasting plants in Poland (0.2 ml suspension; 50 mg of the examined sample in 0.6 cm3 of NaCl solution). 9 months after the application of the ashes, biopsies of the left lung were taken and there was determined the activity of acid phosphatase (AcP) and adenosinetriphosphatase (ATP-ase) histoenzymatically. There was found sensitivity of these hydrolases and changes of their activity connected with chemical composition of the examined ashes.

White Wistar female rats only once were administered intratracheally a suspension of the soil dust in the physiologic saline. The respirable fraction of the soil dust was used for preparing the suspension of the latter. The experiment was carried out in 2 groups of rats. The animals of the 1st group received the soil dust suspension which was the mixture of the soil samples from 3 different places in Poland, the animals of the 2nd group from 3 other places in Poland. The control animals were once administered the physiologic saline. 9 months after the application of dust, the specimen of the left lung were taken for histochemical examinations. The reactions to the activity of succinic and lactate dehydrogenase, of tetrazole reductase NADP, and of acid phosphatase and ATP-ase were performed. The changes in the activity of the studied respiratory enzymes and the increase of the reaction to the acid phosphatase were observed. The results reveal the disorders of the oxidation-reduction processes and the intensification of the lytic processes in the pulmonary parenchyma of the animals exposed to the action of the soil dust.

Experimental animals (female white rats of Wistar strain) were given intratracheally a suspension of soil dusts and electroenergetic ashes. 3 months later, hydroxyproline contents in lung tissue was determined with PROKOP'S and UNDENFRIEND'S method modified by TOMASZEWSKI and HANZLIK. The highest hydroxyproline levels were found in animals from experimental groups, which had been administered electroenergetic ashes.

There was analysed the behaviour of the pulmonary tissue in white Wistar female rats exposed to a single effect of electroenergetic ashes from a few Polish power stations, hasting plants and electrohasting plants. The animals received a single 0.6 ml dose of the ashes in suspension of physiologic fluid intratracheally; 3 and 6 months after the experiment, the animals were decapitated and material for examinations was collected. Grains of used ashes were then assessed under the scanning electron microscope. Segments were stained with hematoxyline and cosine and by Masson's method. All the ashes caused inflammatory infiltrations, granulomas containing grains of the examined ash, fibrosis, thickening of interalveolar septa, atelectasis, and emphysema. The experiment resulted in a disturbance of biological balance of pulmonary connective tissue (stroma) due to the action of the ashes.

For seven days, three times a day, female rats were instilled into their conjunctival sacs suspensions of power plant dusts, soil and clay. Clinically observed were inflammatory changes of the conjunctiva and cyclids margins as well as traumatisation of the corneal and conjunctival epithelia, appearing at different stages on the experiment. Cytoenzymatic examinations indicated disturbances of oxidation and reduction processes, changes in dialysis through physiologic membranes and dissociation of protein synthesis.

There was examined the biological activity of soil dusts using histochemical methods. Intratracheal administration of dusts used in this study is a common method for testing activity of industrial dusts. The used soil dusts were characterized by high content of free silicon dioxide, 3 times higher than its content in dusts from power stations released in the process of burning coal and approximately to the amount in graphite dust. Both coal dusts and graphite dusts absorbed by the lungs cause silicoanthracosis. The investigations have been shown that soil dusts caused stimulation of the mitochondrial metabolism giving an increase of the activity of succinic dehydrogenase, lactic dehydrogenase, and ATPase induced by Mg++ ions. This was additionally confirmed by an increase of NADP activity which is an enzyme binding a chain or reactions regulating the hydrocarbonic metabolism. There was also observed an increased activity of the hydrolytic enzyme acid phosphatase. High activity occurred in the epithelium of bronchi and bronchioli and focally in pulmonary parenchyma.

There was analysed, by means of biochemical examinations, the behaviour of hydroxyproline level in the lungs of experimental animals exposed to the action of soil dusts and electroenergetic ashes. 44 female white rats of Wistar strain were used in the experiment. The animals were administered intratracheally 0.2 ml dusts and electroenergetic ashes suspension. After decapitation, prepared material was taken from the left lung. Hydroxyproline determinations were performed according to Prokop's und Undenfried's method modified by Tomaszewski and Hanzlik. 9 months after the administration of the dusts, the contents of hydroxyproline slightly differed from the levels observed in control group.

The studies were performed on 44 white female Wistar rats which were intratracheally administered the suspension of the soil dust and the electro-energetic ashes. The electro-energetic ashes were collected from 6 different local heat and power generating plants while the soil dust from several random places of our country. The statistical analysis of the body and the lung mass of the animals subjected to the single dust and ash insufflation was performed. The applied variants proved the statistically significant differences between the body and the lung mass. The observed differences are connected with the kinds of dust and ash used in the experiment.

By histological (survey staining with hematoxylin and eosin) and analytical (determination of trace elements content) techniques, morphological evaluation of the lungs of rats affected by soil dust has been carried out. Experimental animals have been given intratracheally, with a blunt aspirating needle, a suspension of 50 mg of the test sample of soil dust in 0.6 ml of 0.9% NaCl solution. The material for studies, in form of small segments of lungs, has been collected 3 and 9 months after dusts application. The findings point to possible pathogenetic effects of soil dusts, which is related to their physico-chemical properties.

Observations were carried out on 65 white she-rats. The animals received by+intraconjunctival+route a suspension of volatile ashes from ventilators of electricity works, a suspension of the soil from the area of the power-houses and a suspension of clay from clay mines. The animals exhibited marginal blepharitis and conjunctivitis appearing in the 3-5 days of investigation. The observations point to pollution of the soil of the power-house area and to the noxiousness of the investigated dusts which should be classified to the category of burdensome dusts.