Facts on File Encyclopedia of Health and Medicine

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1982, an experimental procedure that unfolded in
full public scrutiny via television. People around
the world were simultaneously captivated and
repulsed during the four months Clark survived
with the device in his chest attached by six feet of
tubing to an external and noisy pump the size of a
washing machine. DeVries worked closely with
Robert Jarvik, the pump’s designer, and physician-
inventor Willem Kolff, on the mechanical heart’s
design. After Clark, DeVries implanted mechanical
hearts into four other people. DeVries retired from
cardiovascular surgery in 1999.
Ehrlich, Paul(1854–1915) German bacteriolo-
gist and physician whose extensive research on
immunity resulted in developing salvarsan, the
first successful treatment for syphilis, and earned
him the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in



  1. Ehrlich’s studies of cell structure and func-
    tion later became the foundation of chemotherapy
    as a treatment for cancer.
    Einthoven, Willem (1860–1927) Dutch physi-
    cian and scientist whose penultimate achievement
    was the development of the electrocardiogram
    (ECG) in 1903. The importance of this device for
    measuring and visually representing the electrical
    activity of the heart became apparent over the
    next two decades. Einthoven received the Nobel
    Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1924 to honor
    the discovery.
    Elion, Gertrude (1918–1999) American
    chemist who developed the first chemotherapy
    agents successful in treating childhood leukemia,
    an achievement for which she received the Nobel
    Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1988 (shared
    with her collaborator, chemist George H. Hitch-
    ings, and chemist James W. Black who won for his
    work to develop beta blockers and histamine H 2
    blockers). Elion developed other drugs that,
    although ineffective as treatments for leukemia,
    became therapies for immunosuppression (aza-
    thioprine) and gout (allopurinol).
    Fleming, Alexander (1881–1955) Scottish
    bacteriologist credited with the discovery of peni-
    cillin and its actions to kill pathogenic microbes.
    Fleming shared, with Ernest Chain and Howard
    Florey, the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
    in 1945 for his work with penicillin. Fleming
    devoted his career to the study of antisepsis and
    wrote prodigiously of his work.


Florey, Howard Walter (1898–1968) Aus-
tralian research pathologist whose work to investi-
gate the actions of penicillin earned him a share of
the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1945,
with Alexander Fleming and Ernest Chain. Florey
worked to produce large quantities of penicillin for
use as an antibiotic at the end of World War II. He
co-authored numerous books during his career.
Freud, Sigmund(1856–1939) Austrian psy-
chiatrist who developed the method of psycho-
analysis. As a physician Freud specialized in
emotional disorders, such as neurosis, and became
intrigued with the nature of the unconscious
mind. He studied dreams, forgetfulness, and inad-
vertent comments (“Freudian slips”)—all of which
he perceived as insights into the workings of the
mind. Freud also correlated much of the mind’s
functions with sexuality. Freud wrote extensively
of his findings and theories, some of which remain
controversial and highly debated even today.
However, Freud remains the founder of psychia-
try, and his work continues to provide insights for
medical researchers interested in understanding
the link between body and mind.
Galen, Claudius(129–199) A physician and
philosopher, also called Galen of Pergamum,
whose observations and study of the human body
framed the practice of medicine until the Middle
Ages. Galen drew much of his information from
dissections of animals such as pigs and apes, how-
ever, which resulted in some fundamental errors
in understanding of human anatomy and physiol-
ogy. Galen also embraced the premise of the four
humors (blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black
bile), in which illness and disease resulted from
imbalances among these vital substances.
Gibbon, John H. Jr.(1904–1973) American
physician and thoracic surgeon who developed
the cardiopulmonary bypass machine, the first
successful use of which took place in 1953. Gib-
bon continued to perfect the design and methods
for using cardiopulmonary bypass, making possi-
ble the many advances in surgical operations on
the heart that occurred through the latter half of
the 20th century.
Gray, Henry(1825–1861) English physician,
anatomist, and physiologist best known for his
landmark work Gray’s Anatomy.This extraordinary
detailed description of the human body’s structure

412 Appendix VII

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