On June 21 at the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Medical Association in San Francisco, the House of Delegates chose Dr. William Wayne Babcock of Philadelphia as recipient of one of the highest honors in medicine—its Distinguished Service medal, awarded annually for outstanding contributions to medicine and humanity. Dr. Babcock received the award for the introduction of spinal anesthesia into the United States, for his pioneer work in surgery of the thyroid gland and in bone grafting, and for the designing of several surgical instruments. Dr. Babcock is also credited with the first use of stainless steel wire in abdominal wounds. In addition, he was instrumental in the growth of Temple University, which began as a night school and which now has a medical school of first rank. Dr. Babcock was born in East Worcester, N. Y., on June 10, 1872, and received his M.D. at the College of