Medical Advances
Ike Skelton, an important politician for Missouri, once proclaimed that “Modern medical advances have helped millions of people live longer, healthier lives. We owe these improvements to decades of investment in medical research.” Medical determination and long hours have led to amazing feats in medicine. The dedication and hard work of the 1930s is still shown today in the medical field. The 1930s were littered with these advances which include the creation of the first artificial pacemaker, created by Albert S. Hyman, and the discovery of the symptoms that occur after experiencing a voltage shock. Lastly, in the 1930s the first successful heart and lung machine was used during surgery. Medical advancements were at an all-time high in the 1930s and millions of lives were saved or improved.
To begin, the first artificial pacemaker was a very monumental medical advancement in the 1930s. To paraphrase (Albert Hyman Brought to Life), in 1932 Hyman and his brother created a machine that used electricity to simulate a stopped heart. It was powered by a spring-wound hand-cranked motor. This creation was a huge step up to the former way of starting the heart back up using drugs such as epinephrine, due to them having horrible side effects. Albert and his brother tested their invention on 43 lab animals and revived 13, a promising number for the time it was created and the stage of its build. According to (Early History of Cardiac Pacing and Defibrillation) the machine worked by first taking a needle-like object, attached to the pacemaker, and placing it into the person's chest into the heart. The doctor would then turn the crank to produce an electrical current to go to the heart, or exactly “the patient's right atrium” (NCBI, 1), through the needle. This would eventually to the heart regaining its pulse/beat. The device was used in the New York area gaining press coverage there too. The device could be altered through different settings 30, 60, and 120 beats per minute. This invention was not accepted till later due to people thinking it was interfering with natural events. Hyman created the pacemaker to restore a normal heartbeat in patients whose heart had stopped accidentally or in stillborn infants but not those with heart block. Albert Hyman created a machine that would influence future scientist and doctors to create off of his basic ideas.
An additional medical breakthrough was with the research of neurologist Orthello Langworthy and William B. Kouwenhoven. According to (ResearchGate, 2) these two scientists observed the symptoms to the human body of an electric shock. According to the same article, it states “A convulsion is a likely consequence of a high voltage shock applied to the extremities.” This quote justifies that high voltage shocks, such as of the 110 volts of a common home outlet. (McCune, 1) They considered that the shock itself was not the cause of breathing failure rather the spasms your body gets. According to (Medical Advances Weebly, 1) a low voltage shock could cause can cause ventricular fibrillation, or arrhythmia which can cause the heart to restore its normal rhythm, basically just affecting the beat of the heart. Kouwenhoven and Langworthy did tests on a dog. It states in (ResearchGate, 2) “Shocks in dogs between the foreleg and hind leg caused convulsions and respiratory arrest.” In that quote, the scientists applied different types of shocks to a dog ranging from low voltage to high voltage. Each shock affected the dog’s respiratory system basically stopping it for a short time. This research was later applied to using electricity to help the heart regain its pulse. Kouwenhoven received the IEEE Edison Medal “because of his contributions to the fields of electrical insulation, electrical measurements, and electrical science applied to medicine.” (Wikipedia, 3) He is still admired by today's medical scientist for his work and contributions to medical science.
Lastly, a historical breakthrough in the 1930s was when doctor John Gibbon made a heart and lung machine to be used as a replacement for those organs during surgery. According to (Infoplease) the machine “created by Dr. John H. Gibbon, Jr. for extracorporeal circulation of a cat” This machine supported a cats life throughout an experience like surgery on those organs. The machine was designed to handle the heart and lungs functions. Later in a couple of years, the first Zhuman this machine was used on was eighteen-year-old Cecelia Bavolek. She had a septal defect in the top chambers of her heart, the machine closed the serious clog off and restored the girl's heart. The was the first successful intracardiac surgery done on a human patient. The patient was under the machine for three-fourths of an hour solely depending on the machine for her survival. (Michael, 1). Doctor Gibbon was influenced to create this machine in 1931 after a person's death due to pulmonary embolectomy which was a failed attempt on heart surgery. The machine simply takes deoxygenated blood and oxygenates it. (J. Donald Hill.) This machine was the building block, the map to current machines. This machine saved many lives and continues to astonish medical experts today.
To conclude, medical advancements in the 1930s are still affecting us today. The inventions created, such as the Hyman Pacemaker, and the research was done by Kouwenhoven with what electricity does to the body are examples of advancing through the stages of medical technology and data. The first surgery done with the heart and lung machine was revolutionary to the future of heart surgery and the ability to save lives. It is a time to be alive, the medical research done years ago is still being looked at and progressed upon. The scientists that went to work and had sleepless nights full of research helped expand medical knowledge that shows today. The 1930s was a giant time for medical advancements, and still, affect the modern age of medicine.
To begin, the first artificial pacemaker was a very monumental medical advancement in the 1930s. To paraphrase (Albert Hyman Brought to Life), in 1932 Hyman and his brother created a machine that used electricity to simulate a stopped heart. It was powered by a spring-wound hand-cranked motor. This creation was a huge step up to the former way of starting the heart back up using drugs such as epinephrine, due to them having horrible side effects. Albert and his brother tested their invention on 43 lab animals and revived 13, a promising number for the time it was created and the stage of its build. According to (Early History of Cardiac Pacing and Defibrillation) the machine worked by first taking a needle-like object, attached to the pacemaker, and placing it into the person's chest into the heart. The doctor would then turn the crank to produce an electrical current to go to the heart, or exactly “the patient's right atrium” (NCBI, 1), through the needle. This would eventually to the heart regaining its pulse/beat. The device was used in the New York area gaining press coverage there too. The device could be altered through different settings 30, 60, and 120 beats per minute. This invention was not accepted till later due to people thinking it was interfering with natural events. Hyman created the pacemaker to restore a normal heartbeat in patients whose heart had stopped accidentally or in stillborn infants but not those with heart block. Albert Hyman created a machine that would influence future scientist and doctors to create off of his basic ideas.
An additional medical breakthrough was with the research of neurologist Orthello Langworthy and William B. Kouwenhoven. According to (ResearchGate, 2) these two scientists observed the symptoms to the human body of an electric shock. According to the same article, it states “A convulsion is a likely consequence of a high voltage shock applied to the extremities.” This quote justifies that high voltage shocks, such as of the 110 volts of a common home outlet. (McCune, 1) They considered that the shock itself was not the cause of breathing failure rather the spasms your body gets. According to (Medical Advances Weebly, 1) a low voltage shock could cause can cause ventricular fibrillation, or arrhythmia which can cause the heart to restore its normal rhythm, basically just affecting the beat of the heart. Kouwenhoven and Langworthy did tests on a dog. It states in (ResearchGate, 2) “Shocks in dogs between the foreleg and hind leg caused convulsions and respiratory arrest.” In that quote, the scientists applied different types of shocks to a dog ranging from low voltage to high voltage. Each shock affected the dog’s respiratory system basically stopping it for a short time. This research was later applied to using electricity to help the heart regain its pulse. Kouwenhoven received the IEEE Edison Medal “because of his contributions to the fields of electrical insulation, electrical measurements, and electrical science applied to medicine.” (Wikipedia, 3) He is still admired by today's medical scientist for his work and contributions to medical science.
Lastly, a historical breakthrough in the 1930s was when doctor John Gibbon made a heart and lung machine to be used as a replacement for those organs during surgery. According to (Infoplease) the machine “created by Dr. John H. Gibbon, Jr. for extracorporeal circulation of a cat” This machine supported a cats life throughout an experience like surgery on those organs. The machine was designed to handle the heart and lungs functions. Later in a couple of years, the first Zhuman this machine was used on was eighteen-year-old Cecelia Bavolek. She had a septal defect in the top chambers of her heart, the machine closed the serious clog off and restored the girl's heart. The was the first successful intracardiac surgery done on a human patient. The patient was under the machine for three-fourths of an hour solely depending on the machine for her survival. (Michael, 1). Doctor Gibbon was influenced to create this machine in 1931 after a person's death due to pulmonary embolectomy which was a failed attempt on heart surgery. The machine simply takes deoxygenated blood and oxygenates it. (J. Donald Hill.) This machine was the building block, the map to current machines. This machine saved many lives and continues to astonish medical experts today.
To conclude, medical advancements in the 1930s are still affecting us today. The inventions created, such as the Hyman Pacemaker, and the research was done by Kouwenhoven with what electricity does to the body are examples of advancing through the stages of medical technology and data. The first surgery done with the heart and lung machine was revolutionary to the future of heart surgery and the ability to save lives. It is a time to be alive, the medical research done years ago is still being looked at and progressed upon. The scientists that went to work and had sleepless nights full of research helped expand medical knowledge that shows today. The 1930s was a giant time for medical advancements, and still, affect the modern age of medicine.
The design of the first heart and lung machine in the 1930s, created by John Gibbon. This design saved a girls life when she had a heart defect.
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A picture of William B. Kouwenhoven, who devoted 50 years of his life to creating and studying the equipment and ideas behind jolting a human back to life.
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The "Hyman Pacemaker" created by Albert S. Hyman in the 1930's, monumental towards the idea of reestablishing the heart with electricity.
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