Pathology of a Black African Population

Various nouns have been used in the past to describe the Black races of South Africa and these terms will be used interchangeably in the text. They include 'Bantu, African, Negro and Black'. Although the currently recommended term is that of 'Blacks of South Africa', many articles have been published in the Medical literature referring to Bantu, e. g. , 'Bantu Siderosis', and other articles have appeared referring to African, e. g. , 'African Cardiomyopathy'. The material for this study was derived from the pathology laboratory at Barag- wanath Hospital (2,500 beds) which serves the town of Soweto, a Black town of ap- prOximately 1 million inhabitants ten miles southwest of Johannesburg. There may, of course be differing incidence rates for various diseases in different parts of South Africa, although the overall trend is fairly uniform. No figures are available as to how long the inhabitants of Soweto have lived in the town or whether a significant percent- age originated in rural areas. No comparisons were therefore attempted between dis- ease in rural and urban areas. The material in this book deals essentially with pathol- ogy in the urban Black. This book is not a comprehensive study of pathology in the black Community. Only certain aspects are dealt with, particularly those topics of in- terest to the author.