All Posts
Cardiac Catheterization, Part 3
Earlier, when I was teaching and discussing the cardiovascular system with medical students or nurses, I would at times tell them of Werner Forssmann’s epic experiment of self-characterization, but I knew of no other Forssmann until I learned a Dr. Wolf-Georg Forssmann was one of two German professors who had nominated me for a German […]
Cardiac Catheterization, Part 2
Life changing events, if they occur at all, often are difficult to pinpoint. Not so with Dr. Werner Forssmann. The arc of his life swerved abruptly on that day in 1929, when he stuck a catheter into a handy arm vein and eased the instrument forward until its tip entered his heart. He knew he […]
The First Cardiac Catheterization
Some medical discoveries fade as they settle into history. Others glow brightly. Here’s a little quiz for you. The poliomyelitis virus was a nasty crippler and killer that terrorized the world until the mid-1950s. Which of the following won the Nobel Prize for their work on the polio virus? John Enders Jonas Salk Thomas Weller […]
First Book Winner
Our first book winner has emerged. T.D. lives in the Kansas City area and has chosen to receive the novel. The Colors of Medicine is heading her way. My next post will describe the early history of cardiac catheterization, focusing on how it all began, a human interest story that surprises many. That should be […]
Book Giveaway
As a new blogger who has posted items for only a few months, I much appreciate the complimentary feedback I’ve received so far. I’m especially gratified by reports that some of you are going back and rereading everything I’ve written on this site. Such interest will keep me writing. Admittedly, readership here is still modest. […]
Washington’s Swamp
The latest Congressional approval rating I’ve seen, from December, reveals that 15% of our citizens approve of the work of our Washington legislators. Fifteen percent? That high? Was the poll over-weighted with lobbyists, lawmakers’ relatives, and residents in mental institutions? Who isn’t aware that our proud career politicians, when they’re not squabbling with each other, […]
Berlin and the Brandenburg Gate: Conclusion
Note: If you’re new to this blog, or if you don’t remember details of my first experience at the Brandenburg Gate recounted in an earlier post, you may want to go back and read part one of this story before reading what follows. My last trip to Berlin came nearly four decades after I […]
Christmas and Beyond
Christmas is rushing in and arriving tomorrow, the Covid-19 Christmas of 2020, that strange mutant promising to be different from any Christmas we’ve ever known. Tomorrow’s odd offshoot will be marked by smaller family gatherings, or none at all, by folks humming familiar carols rather than singing them (their closed mouths hidden behind masks, their […]
Taking on South American Arrow Poison
This piece is a bit different from others I’ve written here. I wrote this one years ago and published it in the Kansas City Star. I dug out a clipping of it today, retyped it with minimal changes (it originally was written with a typewriter), and here it is, an old story revived. I hope […]
One on One in Kuopio Addendum
If you’ve read my previous post, the one in which I describe my energetic examination of a doctoral student in Kuopio, you know that story ended with a critical question unanswered, with a mystery unsolved. I have just received further intelligence pertaining to that story, as I describe below. However, if you haven’t read my […]
