Werner Forssmann, a Personal Tribute
When I wrote the story of Werner Forssmann catheterizing of his own heart, I ignored my more personal debt to Forssmann’s striking accomplishment. That personal debt was sparked some years ago, on…
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…
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…
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…
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…
