Werner Forssmann
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Werner Forßmann | |
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University of Berlin | |
| Known for | Cardiac catheterization |
| Awards | Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (1956) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Medicine |
Werner Theodor Otto Forßmann (Forssmann in English; German pronunciation: Andre Frederic Cournand and Dickinson W. Richards) for developing a procedure that allowed cardiac catheterization. In 1929, he put himself under local anesthesia and inserted a catheter into a vein of his arm. Not knowing if the catheter might pierce a vein, he put his life at risk. Forssmann was nevertheless successful; he safely passed the catheter into his heart.
Early life
Forssmann was born in Berlin on 29 August 1904. Upon graduating from
University of Berlin to study medicine, passing the State Examination in 1929.[1]
Career
He hypothesized that a catheter could be inserted directly into the heart, for such applications as directly delivering drugs, injecting radiopaque dyes, or measuring blood pressure. The fear at the time was that such an intrusion into the heart would be fatal.[2] To prove his point, he decided to try the experiment on himself.
In 1929, while working in
right atrium.[3]
The head clinician at Eberswalde, although initially very annoyed, recognized Werner's discovery when shown the X-rays; he allowed Forssmann to carry out another catheterization on a terminally ill woman whose condition improved after being given drugs in this way.Robert Koch Hospital in Berlin.[1]
From 1932 to 1945, he was a member of the
POW camp. Upon his release in 1945, he worked as a lumberjack and then as a country medic in the Black Forest with his wife. In 1950, he began practice as a urologist in Bad Kreuznach.[1][2]
During the time of his imprisonment, his paper was read by
Leibniz Medal of the German Academy of Sciences. In 1956, the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Cournand, Richards, and Forßmann.[1]
After winning the Nobel Prize, he was given the position of
Honorary Professor of Surgery and Urology at the University of Mainz.[1] In 1961, he became an honorary professor at the National University of Córdoba.[1] In 1962, he became a member of the Executive Board of the German Society of Surgery. He also became a member of the American College of Chest Physicians, honorary member of the Swedish Society of Cardiology, the German Society of Urology, and the German Child Welfare Association.[1]
Personal life
He and Elsbet had six children: Klaus Forßmann in 1934, Knut Forßmann in 1936, Jörg Forßmann in 1938, Wolf Forßmann in 1939 (who was first to isolate the
He died in Schopfheim, Germany of heart failure on 1 June 1979.[2] His wife died in 1993.
See also
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Werner Forssmann – Biography". Nobel Foundation. Retrieved 2008-12-22.
- ^ a b c d "Werner Forssmann". NNDB. Retrieved 2009-03-31.
- ^ S2CID 8008163.
- ^ "The History of Werner Forssmann". UTMB. Archived from the original on 2008-06-13. Retrieved 2008-12-22.
References
- Goerig, Michael; Agarwal Kamayni (February 2008). "[Werner Forssmann: "the typical man before his time!" – self-experiment shows feasibility of cardiac catheterization]". Anästhesiologie, Intensivmedizin, Notfallmedizin, Schmerztherapie. 43 (2): 162–5. S2CID 259981371.
- Hollmann, Wildor (2006). "Werner Forssmann, Eberswalde, the 1956 Nobel Prize for medicine". Eur. J. Med. Res. 11 (10): 409–12. PMID 17107872.
- Forssmann, Wolf-Georg; Hirsch Jochen R (2006). "50 years Nobel Prize: Werner Forssmann and the issue of commemorative stamps". Eur. J. Med. Res. 11 (10): 406–8. PMID 17107871.
- Berry, Diana (February 2006). "History of cardiology: Werner Forssmann, MD". Circulation. 113 (7): f27–8. PMID 16493783.
- "[Werner Forssmann tested the first heart catheter on himself. For this reason he was fired by the chief physician]". MMW Fortschritte der Medizin. 146 (33–34): 56. August 2004. PMID 15526639.
- Bröer, R (2002). "[Legend or reality? – Werner Forssmann and heart catheterization]". Dtsch. Med. Wochenschr. 127 (41): 2151–4. S2CID 260064457.
- Raju, T N (1999). "The Nobel chronicles. 1956: Werner Forssmann (1904–79); André Frédéric Cournand (1895–1988); and Dickinson Woodruff Richards, Jr (1895–1973)". S2CID 54402027.
- Siegel, D (1997). "Werner Forssmann and the Nazis". Am. J. Cardiol. 80 (12): 1643–4. PMID 9416961.
- Hart, F D (1997). "Werner Forssmann (1904–1979), auto-experimenter/medical martyr. The original cardiac catheterization". Journal of Medical Biography. 5 (2): 120–1. S2CID 6396808.
- Forssmann-Falck, R (March 1997). "Werner Forssmann: a pioneer of cardiology". Am. J. Cardiol. 79 (5): 651–60. PMID 9068526.
- Heiss, H W; Hurst, J. Willis (1992). "Werner Forssmann: a German problem with the Nobel Prize". Clinical Cardiology. 15 (7): 547–9. S2CID 8008163.
- Meyer, J A (March 1990). "Werner Forssmann and catheterization of the heart, 1929". Ann. Thorac. Surg. 49 (3): 497–9. PMID 2178572.
- Schadewaldt, H (1979). "Werner Forssmann 29.8.1904 – 1.6.1979". Dtsch. Med. Wochenschr. 104 (52): 1856–7. PMID 391522.
- Steckelberg, J M; Vlietstra R E; Ludwig J; Mann R J (November 1979). "Werner Forssmann (1904—1979) and his unusual success story". Mayo Clin. Proc. 54 (11): 746–8. PMID 386001.
- Asperger, Z (1979). "[The life of Doctor Werner Forssmann (1904—1979) (author's transl)]". Lijecnicki Vjesnik. 101 (8): 509–17. PMID 396430.
- "[Münchener Medizinische Wochenschrift/20 March 1931 Contrast representation of the cavities of the living right half of the heart by Werner Forssmann, Eberswalde]". Münchener medizinische Wochenschrift. 120 (14): 489. April 1978. PMID 347275.
- Kenéz, J (1969). "[Heroic self-experiment of a practicing physician (Werner Forssmann)]". Orvosi Hetilap. 110 (52): 3069–74. PMID 4904895.
- Sulek, K (1969). "[Nobel prize for Andre F. Cournand, Werner T. O. Forssmann and Dickinson W. Richards in 1956 for the discovery related to heart catheterization and studies on pathological changes in the cardiovascular system]". Wiad. Lek. 22 (2): 203–4. PMID 4890192.
- HEUSCH, K (1957). "[Werner Forssmann, Nobel prize winner for medicine, 1956.]". Zeitschrift für Urologie. 50 (2): 57–9. PMID 13434311.
- Bolt, W; Knipping H W (1956). "[Congratulations to Werner Forssmann on winning the 1956 Nobel prize for medicine.]". Med. Klin. (Munich). 51 (49): 2073–6. PMID 13386873.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Werner Forßmann.
- Biographical Sketch of Werner Forßmann with video clip
- The 'Man Who Touched His Own Heart'; NPR interview with Robert Dunn, his biographer
- www.aerztezeitung.de: Der Herzkatheter-Selbstversuch: Dichtung und Wahrheit (in German)
- Heart pioneers and the curious case of Werner Forssmann - British Heart Foundation Blog Article
- Werner Forssmann on Nobelprize.org including the Nobel Lecture, December 11, 1956 The Role of Heart Catheterization and Angiocardiography in the Development of Modern Medicine
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