Month: September 2025

Three implants for the heart have changed the outcomes of heart disease – namely stents, artificial valves, and an implantable defibrillator. Stents can now open a tiny blood vessel supplying the heart muscles (coronaries). Artificial valves can replace a damaged native valve inside the heart and can now also be inserted without opening up the… Continue reading Three implants to mend heart: Stent, Valve and a Defibrillator

Christiaan Barnard was made famous on 3rd December 1967, when he performed first human to human heart transplant in Cape Town, South Africa. He was just 45 when he performed this first dare, and would repeat the feat in years to come. It was Barnard’s conviction and persistence that inspired many across the world to… Continue reading Christiaan Barnard, and his heart transplants

William Worrall Mayo (WW Mayo), was born in England in 1819, studied chemistry and migrated to United States in 1845. He first worked as a pharmacist in New York, and then as a tailor in Indiana, before turning to medicine in 1850s. Initially trained at Indiana, and then at Missouri, WW Mayo graduated in medicine… Continue reading Mayo clinic: The first modern group practice

All medical students are taught Apgar score, a 10-point scale to grade a just-born as healthy or at risk. This has made Virginia Apgar quite immortal. She however was neither a pediatrician (a doctor for children) or an obstetrician (a doctor who delivers). Rather, she initially trained as a surgeon, and accepted to be an… Continue reading Virginia Apgar, an accidental anesthetist

Medical training is long. Across the globe, students enter the medical school for an initial generic training. When medical students complete this initial 4-5 years of training, they become doctors. However, doctors are required to obtain more training. This additional training is in form of internship, and specialty specific residency. The residency is a staged… Continue reading William Osler and origin of residency in medical training