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Description
The left side of the second shelf provides a story board tribute to a true Cardiology “giant” Dr. Willem Einthoven. He is the researcher that developed the early tools and techniques for recording the electrical energy that reveals the heart’s unique rhythm, rate and patterns. This was a profound discovery. Historically, we understand that in the latter half of the 1800s physicians discovered that heartbeats create weak electrical currents on the body's surface. A graphic image showing how these currents vary (an electrocardiogram or ECG) provides a picture of how a heart is functioning. Dr. Einthoven developed the physician’s ability to depict the heart and its parts, functions, and illnesses using ECGs. One key to this progress was the string galvanometer, which precisely measures tiny currents, constructed by Einthoven in 1903. To the right you can see that device in an early photo from Einthoven’s research lab. Immediately to the right is a landmark text written by Dr. Henry Marriott, a Tampa Cardiologist and professor in the 1960s; it provided a practical guide to students for the proper interpretation of ECGs. Next, an example of an early ECG tracing with the measurement calipers depicts a patient with a Myocardial Infarction, in progress (M.I. or Coronary Occlusion event). The anatomically correct heart model to the right depicts the pathology of Coronary Artery occlusion and the resulting lack of oxygen to the heart muscle which is darker in color. Just behind the heart model is a historical timeline for the development of the EKG (Electrokardiagram in Dutch). Dr. Einthoven was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology (1924) for his significant contributions to this landmark diagnostic tool for medicine in general and Cardiologists specifically. Finally, a comparative sampling of the evolution of the Cardiac Pacemaker is displayed on the far right. As battery technology and electronic components were miniaturized, so was the implantable Pacemaker, finally to the size of almost a matchstick!
Media Type
JPEG
Keywords
Museum of Medical History, special collections, image gallery, Gulf Coast Medical Center
