whoa, detail from: 'Many cardiac procedures are based on a 1929 experiment by a German doctor who inserted a catheter into his own heart' > In 1929 the physici

whoa, detail from: 'Many cardiac procedures are based on a 1929 experiment by a German doctor who inserted a catheter into his own heart' > In 1929 the physician Werner Forssmann saw a picture in a book showing how a tube was inserted into the heart of a horse through a vein. A balloon at the other end of the tube showed changes in pressure. He was convinced that a similar experiment could be carried out on people. Despite the fact that his boss forbade him, Werner Forssmann conducted the experiment on himself. From the crook of his arm he inserted a thin catheter through a vein into his heart and took an X-ray photo. The experiment paved the way for many types of heart studies. nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/1956/forssmann/facts/ > He persuaded the operating-room nurse in charge of the sterile supplies, Gerda Ditzen, to assist him. She agreed, but only on the promise that he would do it on her rather than on himself. However, Forssmann tricked her by restraining her to the operating table and pretending to locally anaesthetise and cut her arm whilst actually doing it on himself [more] reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/hbjm5w/til_the_first_man_to_perform_a_cardiac/fv96mpo/