Autopsy pathology and disease patterns in Shiraz, Iran, 1960-1974

The impact of 4300 serial autopsies performed in Shiraz, Iran, on scientific and clinical medicine is discussed. These studies in geographic pathology led to the recognition of the importance in disease patterns of persistent, life-long changes in the human immune response brought about by serious perinatal infection and/or malnutrition. Elucidation of the pathogenesis of primary upper small intestinal lymphoma serves as an example of the importance of the field of geographic pathology for the understanding of disease processes. The immune response in infantile infection with Pneumocystis carinii with interstitial plasma-cell pneumonia helped to elucidate the basic conditions and mechanisms underlying all forms of pneumocystosis. The first effective prophylaxis of pneumocystosis was thus developed. The response of the gut to different forms of nutritional deficiency and its relationship to gastroenterological cancer was also investigated.