The problem
Infants born with tetralogy of Fallot could not get enough blood to their lungs. They turned blue and most died young; the heart was considered untouchable.
The innovation
A shunt joining a systemic artery to the pulmonary artery, restoring blood flow to the lungs — developed in the laboratory by Vivien Thomas after Helen Taussig identified the physiological problem.
How it worked
Thomas reproduced the defect in some two hundred dogs, worked out the anastomosis, made the instruments, and stood at Alfred Blalock's shoulder during the first human operation, talking him through a procedure Blalock had performed only once, in the laboratory, with Thomas doing most of them.
Why it mattered
The operation worked, and paediatric cardiac surgery began. Families brought children to Baltimore from around the world.
The legacy
The procedure entered the literature as the Blalock–Taussig shunt. Thomas, who designed it, was not named on the first paper; his contribution is now formally recognised and the operation is often called the Blalock–Thomas–Taussig shunt.
Sources
The surgical treatment of malformations of the heart (JAMA, 1945)
ScholarshipBlalock laboratory records and Vivien Thomas collection
Institutional record
Follow the invention
Tetracycline in the bones of ancient Nubia
Bone from ancient Nubian remains was found to contain tetracycline — the antibiotic itself, deposited in the skeleton in quantities that indicate sustained dietary exposure.
Caesarean section in Bunyoro-Kitara
A European medical student, Robert Felkin, watched a caesarean performed in Bunyoro in which both mother and child survived, and published a detailed account of the procedure.
Safety hood (breathing device)
A hood with long intake tubes hanging near the floor, where smoke is thinner, plus a moist absorbent lining.