The Puzzling Death of Reinhard Heydrich - Defalque, Wright

The Puzzling Death of Reinhard Heydrichby Ray J. Defalque, M.D.ProfessorDepartment of AnesthesiologyUniversity of Alabama at BirminghamandAmos J. Wright, M.L.S.Associate ProfessorDepartment of AnesthesiologyUniversity of Alabama at Birmingham

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ers had dangerously reduced Bohemia’s in-dustrial output of armaments, an essentialpart of the German war effort. Within ninemonths of his arrival, Heydrich hadcrushed the resistance and through vari-ous incentives, had raised the workers’morale and their output.

Alarmed by Heydrich’s success, theCzech government in exile in London de-cided to have him assassinated. J. Kubišand J. Gabèik, two Czech soldiers servingin the British army were trained by theS.O.E. and parachuted near Prague on

IntroductionOn May 27, 1942, Reinhard Heydrich,

the Reich Protector of Bohemia-Moraviain Prague, was seriously wounded by agrenade thrown at his car. He underwentemergency surgery and was slowly recov-ering when on June 3, 1942, eight days af-ter his operation, he suddenly collapsedand sank into a deep coma. He died thenext morning and the cause of his deathhas remained obscure. The present articlereviews the known details of Heydrich’ssurgery, postoperative course and deathand proposes an explanation for his de-mise.

Heydrich’s surgical history has beenreviewed recently in four books and previ-ously in three medical journal articles butmany important details are unfortunatelymissing.1-7 That he was poisoned by botu-linum toxins placed in the grenade by theBritish Special Operations Executive(S.O.E.) has also been suggested.8,9

Re-examining Heydrich’s death now isdifficult as all his physicians are deceasedand most records have been lost; the Ger-mans removed 60 tons of documents asthey left Prague in May, 1945. The recordsof the Bulovka hospital where Heydrichwas treated were lost in a flood in 2002;and Allied bombs destroyed the Berlin Ge-stapo files in 1943 (Personal communica-tion with H.G. Haasis; personal commu-nication with L. Vorel).

Before the Assassination Attempt

This article has been peer reviewed for publication in the January 2009 issue of the Bulletin of Anesthesia History.

At the time of his death at 38 years-of-age, Heydrich, SS Police General and chiefof the Reichssicherheitschauptampt(RSHA, Reich Security Main Office) wasone of the most powerful and most fearedNazi leaders. Exceptionally intelligent,hard-working, ambitious and totallyamoral, he had climbed to the top of the SShierarchy and ruthlessly crushed his andHitler’s domestic and foreign enemies. Hewas the main architect of the “Final Solu-tion,” Hitler’s plan to destroy EuropeanJewry.

In September, 1941 Hitler sent him toPrague as the new Protector of Bohemia-Moravia, a Nazi euphemism for absoluteruler of what remained of the Czech Re-public after the German annexation of theSudetenland. The Protectorate at that timeexperienced acts of sabotage and assassi-nations of Germans and their collabora-tors by the Czech underground. The lowmorale of the harassed and starved work-

December 28, 1941.After contacting the local underground,

they chose to kill Heydrich as hisunescorted car slowed down at a sharp bendin the road between his country residenceand his Prague office. After learning ofthe Protector’s schedule from an accom-plice, they settled on the morning of May27, 1942. Gabèik would shoot his targetwith a Sten submachine gun. Kubiš, armedwith a powerful anti-tank grenade, wouldback him up.

The Attack on May 27, 1942The details of the assassination at-

tempt, and many are still in dispute, arepresented in the four books previouslymentioned and, particularly, in the offi-cial report of H. Pannwitz, the Gestapopoliceman who led the inquest.1-4,10,11 At10:32 a.m., on May 27, 1942, Gabèik triedto open fire on Heydrich as his Mercedes320, sixteen feet away, slowed down to ne-gotiate the hairpin bend on KirchmayerStreet. His Sten gun jammed and Kubišimmediately threw his anti-tank grenade.The weapon exploded upon impact in frontof the cabriolet’s right rear wheel where itpunched a wide hole. A large splinterpierced the passenger’s seat and enteredHeydrich’s left lower back, along with bitsof metal and car seat upholstery.

J. Klein, the SS driver, stopped theMercedes, probably on Heydrich’s orderand both occupants jumped out of the

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The Anesthesia History Association (AHA) sponsors an annual contest for the best essay on the history of anesthesia, painmedicine or intensive care. This contest is open to all residents and fellows in anesthesiology. The purpose of the contest is topromote interest in the history of anesthesia and to advance professionalism in the specialty. Additionally this contest offersresidents and fellows the opportunity to present their paper at a national meeting and to publish the results of their research.The Resident Essay Contest is named for Dr. C. Ronald Stephen an anesthesiologist who was a revered teacher, researcher,clinician and anesthesia historian. Dr. Stephen died at age 90 in 2006.

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Heydrich. . . Continued from Page 1

car.10,11 Heydrich tried to shoot at the flee-ing assassins but his pistol misfired. WhileKlein pursued Gabèik, Heydrich, in severepain, staggered back to the car and col-lapsed on the hood.

After 20 minutes of confusion, he wasplaced face down among cans of wax andpolish in the rear of a passing commercialvan and driven to Bulovka hospital, one-and-a-half miles away. Bulovka, with 1,400beds, was at the time the second largestCzech hospital.

Heydrich’s Surgery (May 27, 1942)Heydrich reached the Bulovka emer-

gency room shortly after 11:00 a.m. andwas registered under the number 12.555/42. Summoned by the emergency roomnurse, Dr. Snadjr arrived at once and foundHeydrich seated on the examining table,bare-chested, silent and aloof, profuselybleeding from his left lower back. Whilechecking the injury, Dr. Snadjr had thenurse call Dr. W. Dick, the Sudeten Ger-man chief of surgery at Bulovka since 1940and an experienced thoracic surgeon. Dr.Slalina, Dr. Dick’s assistant, was the firstto arrive. He found a 10 X 5 cm wound inthe left T8-T10 paravertebral area uponwhich he applied a pressure dressing. Dr.Dick then walked in with a retinue of Ger-man physicians. After clicking his heelsand giving the Hitler salute, he examinedthe wound, filled with blood, pieces ofmetal and car upholstery. At first hethought that the wound was limited to thechest wall and could be debrided and su-tured under local anesthesia in the minorsurgery room, but nonetheless, he ordereda radiograph. Heydrich was taken to theradiology suite in a wheelchair but walkedunassisted to the X-Ray machine. The filmshowed a left pneumothorax, a fracture ofthe left eleventh rib, a diaphragmatic tearand a metal fragment in the spleen. The

left kidney and spine were intact.Told that he needed immediate surgery,

Heydrich refused and insisted on a Berlinsurgeon. Dr. Dick repeated that the opera-tion was urgent and offered to call Profes-sor J. Hohlbaum, the chairman of the Sur-gery Department at the nearby Charles VUniversity. Dr. Hohlbaum was a SilesianGerman. Heydrich accepted after a fewminutes of hesitation and ProfessorHohlbaum was summoned. Drs. Slalinaand Mach brought the patient to an oper-ating room which had just been vacated byDr. A.V. Honek; the latter had hurriedlyfinished a gastrectomy when told that hisroom was needed for an important patient.

Thirty minutes later, Dr. Honek wascalled back to administer Heydrich’s an-esthetic. He was the only surgeon familiarwith the new British machine equippedwith a closed-circuit system for positivepressure ventilation.*

Entering the operating room, Dr. Honekfound Heydrich silent and aloof, lyingundressed on the operating table. He ig-nored Dr. Honek’s questions about looseteeth and dental prostheses, but let himexamine his mouth. He was then anesthe-tized with ether by mask and the left lungwas re-inflated by positive pressure. Anendotracheal tube was not inserted; it isunknown whether ether was preceded byethyl-chloride inhalation or intravenousevipan as was then the common practice.The anesthetic was administered by Mr.Muller, an operating room orderly, helpedby nurse Zavadilova and supervised by Dr.Honek.

The operation started around noon andended shortly after 1:00 p.m. Drs. Dickand Slalina had started scrubbing whenProfessor Hohlbaum walked in with twoassistants. As he was ready to scrub, Dr.Hohlbaum noticed that in his haste he hadforgotten his glasses and an aid was sentto fetch them. He told Dr. Dick to start theprocedure and that he would assist himuntil he had his glasses. Dr. Mach gave thepatient a transfusion of type A blood at thebeginning of the operation and another atthe end, along with tetanus and gas gan-grene antitoxins.

Once asleep, Heydrich was turned onhis right side and Dr. Dick debrided thechest wound, resected the tip of the frac-tured eleventh rib, inserted a pleural Petzercatheter and closed the wound over the ex-panded left lung. The pleural catheter waslater attached to a Bülau bottle to keep thelung expanded postoperatively. Whetherthe 10 cm diaphragmatic tear was suturedthrough the chest wound or during the lap-arotomy is unclear.1,3,5

The patient was then turned on his backand the abdomen was prepared for a lap-arotomy. Dr. Hohlbaum, now wearing hisglasses, made an incision from sternum tomid-abdomen. As he was reaching theumbilicus, Dr. Honek noticed that he wasperspiring profusely.1 Dr. Dick reacted atonce, and in his usual quiet and courteousmanner whispered, “Professor Hohlbaum,you are not well, allow me to take over.” Hethen extended the incision under the leftcostal margin and finished the procedurewith Drs. Hohlbaum’s and Slalina’s as-sistance. The peritoneal cavity was filledwith blood coming from the spleen. Theother abdominal organs and the left kid-ney were intact. The damaged spleen wasremoved; it contained an 8 X 8 cm grenadesplinter and a lot of car upholstery mate-rial. Dr. Dick sutured the pancreatic tail,inserted a peritoneal drain and closed theabdomen. Heydrich tolerated the surgerywell, with normal vital signs.

Postoperative Course and Death (May27 – June 4, 1942)

Around 2:00 p.m., a still drowsyHeydrich was brought to Dr. Dick’s officewhich had been converted into a privateroom for him and in which he remaineduntil his death. The East wing of the sec-ond floor on which the room was situatedwas emptied of patients and turned intoan SS guard post. Dr. Dick followed hispatient until May 29, 1942; afterwardsHeydrich was treated only by SS physi-cians. His wife Lina visited him in the earlyafternoon of May 27 as he was awakeningfrom his anesthetic.

Himmler, at Hitler’s headquarters inRastenburg (East Prussia) was immedi-ately notified of the incident and orderedDr. K. Gebhardt, his personal physicianand professor of orthopedics in Berlin, tofly at once to Heydrich’s bedside. Gebhardtlanded in Prague the evening of May 27,accompanied by his SS deputy, Dr. L.Stumpfegger, and the renowned Berlinsurgeon F. Sauerbruch. ProfessorSauerbruch had been Gebhardt’s teacherand was a close friend of the Heydrich fam-ily. Dr. Morell, Hitler’s physician, nevercame to Prague.2 Gebhardt followedHeydrich closely and phoned Himmlertwice a day to report on his patient’sprogress. Heydrich probably never re-ceived sulfonamides (see below). TheBulovka nurses and pharmacists latercommented on the enormous amounts ofmorphine ordered for Heydrich and evensuspected that one of his physicians wasan addict. The doses of morphine are un-known. It is plausible, however, that large

*The exact type of machine is unknown.Dr. Honek died in 2002 and our letters tothe departments of anesthesia andthoracic surgery at Bulovka wereunanswered. However, an old nurserecalled that Bulovka, at the time, owneda new British machine delivering warmedether and allowing positive pressureventilation (Personal communicationwith L. Vorel). The only Britishapparatus corresponding to thatdescription is the 1932 MagillEndotracheal Apparatus (Design #771428) (12).


Continued on Page 6

amounts of narcotics were needed for ayoung (38 years-of-age) and large (6 ft. 3in., 205 lb.) patient with painful chest andabdominal injuries. Gebhardt may havealso tried to keep his patient comfortableduring the numerous visits of his wife andhis SS colleagues, including Himmler.

Heydrich developed fever (38-39°C or100-102°F) and copious wound drainageuntil June 2, 1942. Gebhardt refused toconsider a second operation. In the earlyhours of June 3, 1942, Gebhardt reportedto Himmler that the fever and the drain-age had subsided and that the patient wasimproving. However, around noon, whileHeydrich was sitting in bed eating a latebreakfast, he suddenly went into shock andsoon lapsed into a deep coma (Personalcommunication with H.G. Haasis). Hedied at 4:30 a.m. the next morning, June 4,1942. His wife alleged that shortly beforehe died her husband briefly regained con-sciousness and asked her to visit him againsoon.13 This event is medically implausible;she was heavily sedated at the time. TheProtector’s decease was recorded in theBulovka death register as “Nr 348/1942.Reinhard Tristan Heydrich. Cause ofdeath: gunshot wound/murder attempt/wound infection.”

The Autopsy (June 4, 1942)A post-mortem, ordered by Heydrich’s

office, was performed at noon on June 4,1942, at the Bulovka morgue. ProfessorsH. Hamperl and G. Weyrich, directors ofthe department of Pathology and of thedepartment of Forensic Medicine, respec-tively, at Charles V University, conductedthe autopsy. Present were the surgeonsDick, Hohlbaum, Gebhardt andSauerbruch as well as several SS physi-cians.

A photograph of the German report, aswell as an English translation (occasion-ally incorrect) are now available.3 The re-port consists of two parts: a brief initialstatement signed on June 4, 1942, and alonger one, including the microscopic andbacteriological findings, completed onJune 17, 1942.

The autopsy was unfortunately incom-plete: the brain was not examined and ap-parently no search was made for evidenceof pulmonary embolism, deep vein throm-boses, mucosal petechiae or foramen ovale.

The essential findings included:

1. The surgical sutures were intactand there had been no postopera-tive bleeding, a reassuring find-ing for the surgeons.5

2. There were small abscesses in thesplenic bed, in the chest wall anddiaphragmatic wounds, andaround the pleural drain, but therewere no large collections of pus inthe abdominal or thoracic cavities.

3. The pericardial sac contained 100ml of sero-fibrinous fluid.

4. The coronary arteries and aortawere normal, except for a few smallatheromatous plaques.

5. The right ventricle, the pulmonaryartery and its main branches werefilled with fat particles and bloodclots. The cardiac valves were in-tact.

6. The esophagus contained foulsmelling, regurgitated gastric con-tent.

7. The lungs showed the most sig-nificant changes:

a) The bronchi were filled withfoamy mucus.

b) The upper lobes of both lungsrevealed severe pulmonaryedema whereas the lower lobesand the left lingula were mark-edly atelectatic.

c) There was a right hydrothorax(170 ml sero-fibrinous fluid).

d) The anterior and lateral sur-faces of the left lung were fusedto the parietal pleura by thick,fibrinous adhesions. A pocketof 50 ml of cloudy, brownishfluid separated the left lungfrom the mediastinum. Anotherlarger pocket (650 ml) lay un-der the left lung, covering thecosto-diaphragmatic recess.

The main microscopic and bacteriologi-cal findings in the June 17, 1942 reportincluded:

1. Cloudy swelling of the hepatic,renal and myocardial cells.

2. The diaphragmatic wound, the leftpleural cavity and the pericardialsac showed an abundance of grampositive bacilli and cocci (mainlystreptococci) and, especially, ofproteus bacteriae.

In his initial report, Dr. Hamperl con-cluded that death had resulted from he-patic, renal and myocardial damagecaused by virulent microbes or their tox-ins. He insisted that “there was no reasonto suppose chemical poisoning by a gre-nade splinter.” He confirmed this diagno-sis in his June 17 report, adding that theabsence of spleen had weakened the body’sresistance to infection.

Surprisingly, Dr. Hamperl in a 1970conversation with Dr. Davis and in his1972 memoirs retracted his diagnosis andclaimed that Heydrich had died free of in-fection and without organ damage.5,14 Heruled out a mediastinitis and attributedthe death to “anemic shock.”

The Sulfonamides QuestionThe claim that Heydrich received sul-

fonamides at Bulovka is unsubstantiatedand probably incorrect.1,5,6,15 At his 1947trial, Gebhardt testified that he did notprescribe sulfonamides for Heydrich be-cause of his medical training in Munichand his 1940 experience as a frontline sur-geon had convinced him of their futility ingunshot wounds.15,16 He had refusedMorell’s offer to fly to Prague as well ashis recommendation to try the new thiaz-ole sulfonamides (e.g., ultrasept) in theproduction of which Morell had large fi-nancial interests.

Gebhardt added that Morell had latertold Himmler that this gross negligencehad caused Heydrich’s death. This accu-sation had estranged him from his SS su-perior.

Gebhardt’s testimony, however, is con-tradicted by the warm letter of thanks thatHimmler sent him on October 19, 1942,praising Heydrich’s surgeons and espe-cially Gebhardt’s for easing his patient’ssuffering.17 Over the following monthsGebhardt was promoted to SS Major Gen-eral and to “Supreme SS Physician” andwas awarded the rare “Knight’s Cross withDiamonds.”15 At his trial, Gebhardt im-plied that he had accepted his superiors’order to test sulfamides on concentrationcamp inmates partly to vindicate his treat-ment of Heydrich.

In fact, the use of sulfonamides for gun-shot wounds in the Soviet Union had al-ready been discussed by the SS medicalservice in early 1942. At the first confer-ence of the Consulting Surgeons (East) inBerlin on May 18-19, 1942, the value ofsulfonamides in wound infections washeatedly debated among military surgeons,including Gebhardt who declared them to


Heydrich. . . Continued from Page 5

be useless.6,15 Immediately after the con-ference, Himmler who had just learnedthat American soldiers carried individualpacks of sulfonamides, and the Chief SSPhysician, L. Grawitz, ordered Gebhardtto begin immediate human trials. Heydrichdied a few days later. On July 20, 1942,Gebhardt started cruel and scientificallyworthless clinical trials on Ravensbrückinmates, the first of a series of criminalexperiments which led to a death sentencein Nürnberg in August, 1947 and to thegallows in early June, 1948.

The Botulism StoryStories that the British S.O.E. had

placed botulinum toxins in the grenadethat wounded Heydrich have circulatedsince 1982.8,9 There is no record of suchintervention in the archives of PortonDown, the British center of biological war-fare and the S.O.E. files are still closed.8,18

The stories may have originated withPaul Fildes (1882-1971), the brilliant mi-crobiologist who led the British bacterio-logical warfare research in World War IIand discovered the botulinum toxin (Toxin“X”) in 1941. He did not publish his war-time work. Fildes was a scientist of rigor-ous integrity in his research but outside ofhis laboratory he was a braggart who en-joyed astounding his colleagues with ex-travagant boasts.8,18 He bragged to his Ox-ford associates after 1945 that he hadplaced toxin “X” in the grenade which fa-tally wounded Heydrich.

Fildes’ claim, however, is highly sus-pect:

1. Heydrich survived eight days af-ter the attack and never showedthe typical paralytic symptoms ofbotulism.19

2. The left face of Kubiš was pep-pered with small splinters of thegrenade he threw at Heydrich.Kubiš remained healthy and ac-tive for 22 days until he was fa-tally wounded by German police-men in a gun battle on June 18,1942. Marie Sochmanova, a youngwoman who was standing nearbyat the moment of the explosionsustained a large calf wound froma grenade fragment but livedmany years afterwards.1

3. The features of the grenade whichwounded Heydrich are wellknown as a similar grenade was

found in the briefcase left at thesite by the fleeing Kubiš.11 (Figure1) The weapon was a powerful Brit-ish number 73 anti-tank grenade,the lower two-thirds of which hadbeen removed to make it lighter (1lb.) and easier to handle (4 in.). Thebottom of the remaining upperone-third had been sealed withadhesive tape and the whole bodywas wrapped in more tape. Germanexperts judged its powerful explo-sive, polar ammon gelatin, to bedangerous to handle.10,11 That sucha delicate weapon would have beenentrusted to a valuable scientistwithout military experience, andthat an agent as lethal as toxin “X”would have been simply coveredwith common tape, seems implau-sible.

4. That the fragile botulinum toxins,protected by a crude tape wrap-ping, would have survived a four-and-a-half hour flight at 10,000 ft.in December (December 28, 1941);five months of harsh mid-Euro-pean winter while hidden outdoorsand, finally, would have resistedthe enormous heat of the explosionalso seems most unlikely.

What Caused Heydrich’s Death?As just discussed, the botulism story is

certainly a canard. The autopsy findingsbelie Dr. Hamperl’s diagnoses of “septicorgan failure” (1942) and of “anemic shock”(1970 and 1972).5,14 Mediastinitis was neversubstantiated.1,3,5,7 Fatal cardiac tampon-ade generally occurs with larger pericar-dial effusions than the 100 ml. found bythe pathologists.

Sudden postoperative cardiovascularcollapse and coma suggest either a cerebralembolism or severe brain ischemia follow-ing a massive pulmonary embolism withacute cor pulmonale and impaired cardiacoutput.20 The embolus may have been alarge fat particle or a blood clot, since bothmaterials were found in the right ventricleand in the pulmonary artery. In the ab-sence of examination of the brain and of asearch for evidence of pulmonary embolus,deep vein thromboses, and foramen ovale,an accurate diagnosis is impossible.

However, sudden cardiovascular col-lapse and coma occurring several days af-ter surgery in a young, previously healthypatient without long bone fractures sug-gests a pulmonary embolism with acute corpulmonale and brain anoxia. In the absenceof important data, however, this diagnosis

must remain a speculation.

SummaryReinhard Heydrich, SS Police chief and

“Protector” of Bohemia-Moravia waswounded by a grenade fragment during anassassination attempt in Prague on May27, 1942. Eight days after undergoing emer-gency surgery, he suddenly collapsed,slipped into coma and died the next morn-ing, on June 4, 1942. The cause of his deathhas remained obscure.

The present article reviews the knowndetails of Heydrich’s medical history afterthe attack. The death of his physicians,the loss of his medical records, and an in-adequate post-mortem make an accuratediagnosis impossible. Massive pulmonaryembolus with acute cor pulmonale and ce-rebral anoxia is a reasonable assumption.That Heydrich died from botulism is mostunlikely.

Short Biographies of Heydrich’sPhysicians

1. Dick, Walter (1899-1990). Sudeten Ger-man born in Bohemia. MD degree fromCharles V University (Prague) in 1925.Chief of Surgery at Bulovka Hospital(Prague) from 1940 to 1945. From 1945to his retirement in 1967, was professorof surgery at the Universities ofKlagenfurt, Bonn and Tübingen.

2. Hohlbaum, Josef (1884-1945). Born inGerman Silesia. From 1924 to 1940taught surgery in Leipzig. From 1941to 1945 was chairman of the SurgeryDepartment at Charles V University(Prague). Remained in Prague in May,1945, was sentenced to forced labor bythe Czech authorities and was criticallywounded by a mine while clearing abuilding in Prague. Denied treatmentby his Czech colleagues, he escaped toLeipzig where he died from his legwounds.

3. Sauerbruch, Ferdinand (1875-1951).

Fig. 1. Photograph ofthe spare grenade.


Born in Barmen (Ruhr Valley). MD de-gree from Leipzig University in 1902.Professor of Surgery in Breslau andMunich. From 1928 to 1949, chairmanof the Department of Surgery at theCharité Hospital in Berlin. Died inEast Berlin in 1951 from a cerebrovas-cular accident.

4. Gebhardt, Karl (1897-1948). Born inBavaria. MD degree from Munich Uni-versity in 1935. Chief of OrthopedicSurgery at the Berlin University andHimmler’s personal physician in 1937.Consulting Surgeon with the SS Divi-sion “Das Reich” in 1940 and presidentof the German Red Cross and Chief ofthe Hohenlychen SS Hospital. SS Ma-jor General in 1943. Because of his ex-periments on concentration camp in-mates, was sentenced to death inNürnberg in August, 1947 and hangedin Landsberg in June, 1948.

5. Hamperl, Herwig (1899-1976). Born inVienna. MD degree from Vienna Univer-sity in 1926. From 1940 to 1945, direc-tor of the Institute of Pathology at theCharles V University (Prague). Afterhis release from a short Russian captiv-ity he practiced pathology in Salzburgand Marburg, and then became direc-tor of the Bonn Institute of Pathologyuntil his retirement. He published nu-merous articles and books of pathologyand was editor of several pathology andoncology journals.

6. Weyrich, Günther (1898-1999). Born inRied (Austria), MD degree from Univer-sity of Vienna in 1925. Pathologist inGraz from 1925 to 1939. From 1940 to1945 Director of the Institute of LegalMedicine at Charles V University(Prague). After his release from U.S.captivity in 1947, forensic pathologistin Klagenfurt. From 1954 until his re-tirement in 1966, director of the Insti-tute of Forensic Medicine in Freiburgi.Br.

AcknowledgementsThe authors thank Herren L. Vorel,

H.G. Haasis and T. Fiedler (Germany) andV. Zajka (Yivo Archives, New York) andJeff S. Defalque for providing valuableinformation and documents.

References1. Ivanov M. Der Henker von Prag: Das At-

tentat auf Heydrich Berlin. Edition Q 1993;250-256;306;387-389.

2. Haasis HG. Tod in Prag. Das Attentat aufReinhard Heydrich. Reibeck (Hamburg), Rowholt

Verlag 2003:98-111.3. Williams M. Reinhard Heydrich. The Biog-

raphy, vol. 2 (Enigma) Church Stretton (UK),Ulric Publishing 2003:141-175.

4. Dederichs MR. Heydrich, Das Gesicht desBösen München. Piper Verlag 2005:187-189.

5. Davis R. The assassination of ReinhardHeydrich. Surg Gynecol Obstet 1971;133:304-318.

6. Jelenko III C, Jelenko JM, Mendelson JA,Buxton RW. The marfanil mystery. Surg GynecolObstet 1966;122:121-127.

7. Roseau E. Reinhard victime d’un attentat;aurait il pu etre sauve? Nouv Presse Med 1972;1:61-62.

8. Harris R, Paxman J. A Higher Form of Kill-ing. New York, Hill & Wang 1982:83-94.

9. Mobley JA. Biological warfare in the twen-tieth century: Lessons from the past, challengesfor the future. Mil Med 1995;160:547-553.

10. Pannwitz H. Attentat auf Heydrich(27.5.1942 gegen 10.32 Uhr). Vierteljahrhefte fürZeitgeschichte 1985;33:673-707.

11. Attentat auf den SS-ObergruppenführerHeydrich am 27.05.42 in Prag. Abschlussberichtmit 9 Anlagen. Yivo Archives (New York). Micro-film. Record Group 215, Berlin Collection. FolderOcc E7(a)-5.

12. Thomas KB. The Development of Anaes-thetic Apparatus. Oxford, Blackwell ScientificPublications 1975:194-196.

13. Heydrich L. Leben mit einemKriegsverbrecher Pfaffenhofen. W Ludwig Verlag1976:118-119.

14. Hamperl H. Werdegang und Lebenswegeines Pathologen. Stuttgart, New York. FKSchattauer Verlag 1972:200.

15. Ebbinghaus A, Roth KH. Kriegswunden.In: Ebbinghaus A, Dörner K (editors): Vernichtenund Heilen. Der Nürnberger Ärztenprocess undseine Folgen Berlin. Aufbau Verlag 2001:193-196.

16. Mitscherlich A, Mielke F. Medizin ohneMenschlichheit. Dokumente des NürnbergerArztprocess (New Edition). Frankfurt/Main,Fischer Verlag 1995:171-200.

17. Heiber H (Editor). Reichsführer! Briefevon und an Himmler Stuttgart. DVA Verlag1968:157.

18. Gladstone GP. Obituary. Paul Fildes, 1882-1971. J Gener Microbiol 1972;70:1-11.

19. Middlebrook JL, Franz DR. BotulinumToxins. In: Siddel FR, Takafuji ET, Franz DR(Editors). Medical Aspects of Chemical and Bio-logical Warfare. Washington, DC, Border Insti-tute, TMM Publications 1997:643-654.

20. Moser KM. Pulmonary embolism. Am RevRespir Dis 1977;115:829-852.

EXCITINGOPPORTUNITY!

THE WLMFELLOWSHIP

The WLM Fellowship will providerecipients with financial support forone to three weeks of scholarly his-torical research at the Wood Library-Museum.

The Board of Trustees of the WoodLibrary-Museum invites applicationsfrom anesthesiologists, residents in an-esthesiology, physicians in other disci-plines, historians and other individualswith a developed interest in library andmuseum research in anesthesiology.

For further information, contact:Librarian, Wood Library-Museum ofAnesthesiology at (847) 825-5586, orvisit our Web site atwww.WoodLibraryMuseum.org.

Complete proposals must bereceived before January 31, 2010,for consideration.

The Wood Library-Museumserves the membership of ASA and theanesthesiology community.

Wood Library-Museum ofAnesthesiology

520 N. Northwest HighwayPark Ridge, IL 60068-2573

(847) 825-5586www.WoodLibraryMuseum.org


Obituary: Joachim Stefan Gravensteinby Donald Caton, M.D.Professor EmeritusDepartment of AnesthesiologyUniversity of Florida College of Medicine

Joachim Stefan Gravenstein, ‘Nik’ as weknew him, died on January 16 just one weekshort of his eighty-fourth birthday. Bornin Berlin he began his career in medicinewhen in 1951 he received a Dr. of Med.Degree from the University of Bonn. Fol-lowing an internship at the UniversityHospital in Basel, Switzerland, he movedto Boston, where he served as a residentand then a research fellow at the Massa-chusetts General Hospital. He completedthis training in 1958, simultaneously re-ceiving an MD from Harvard MedicalSchool, at which time he became Chief ofthe Division of Anesthesia at the newlyformed medical school of the University ofFlorida. In 1969 he moved to Cleveland tobecome Director of Anesthesiology at CaseWestern Reserve University MedicalSchool. In 1979 he returned to his depart-ment at the University of Florida to be-come a Graduate Research Professor, a rolein which he continued to be active evenafter his ‘official’ retirement in 1996. Un-til recently he arrived in the departmentmost mornings by seven o’clock to attend aconference or to teach residents or medicalstudents. In his teaching he could becounted upon to offer an insightful com-ment, often delivered with a wry smile.

It is difficult to summarize Nik’s ca-reer as he was deeply involved in so manyaspects of the development and practice ofour specialty. The history of anesthesiol-ogy was one aspect. Apart from his manylectures on this subject, he published pa-pers covering subjects as diverse asParacelsus, von Humboldt and Beecher. Inaddition, he served three terms as Trusteeof the Wood Library Museum at a crucialtime in its development.

Medical science and practice also con-cerned him. Early in his career Dr.Gravenstein published papers, chaptersand books dealing with pharmacology.Later he turned his attention to patientsafety. In this work he served on boards ofmany organizations, among them Anesthe-sia Patient Safety Foundation, Committeeon Patient Safety of the American Societyof Anesthesiology and Society for Technol-ogy in Anesthesia, which in 1999 estab-lished a special award given annually inhis name. With coworkers he held 14

United States patents. Many of these dealtwith a patient simulator, developed with ateam of bioengineers and used to introducestudents and anesthesia residents to theproblems that they would encounter in theoperating room. Perhaps no other aspectof his work better reflects his impact as aninnovator, mentor and teacher.

Dr. Gravenstein’s contributions, hispapers, monographs, chapters, books lec-tures and awards, are too numerous to list.Perhaps the best description of his workcame from Dr. Michael Good, a former resi-dent and now Interim Dean of the Univer-sity of Florida College of Medicine: “As aphysician, he healed many. As a teacher,he helped students of all ages learn. As amentor, he helped so many of us developsuccessful, rewarding and meaningful ca-reers and lives …Nik Gravenstein leavesthe world in a much better place than howhe found it. I am so fortunate to have hadthe opportunity to know and learn fromthis great man.”

Dr. Gravenstein is survived by his wifeand eight children, two of whom are anes-thesiologists on the faculty of the Univer-sity of Florida, one of them a former chairof the department that his father foundedfifty years ago. If marks of a true profes-sional are work in the service of humanity,contributions to improvements in the stan-

Joachim Stefan Gravenstein, M.D.

dards of medical practice and the educa-tion of self and others, Joachim StefanGravenstein met, if not exceeded, each ofthese criteria.


Continued on Page 10

Historical Copy of the Original Lecture Dr. Ralph M. Waters gave at theWorld Congress of Anaesthesia in Brazil in 1964*

*Dr. Ralph M. Waters’ lecture at the 1964 World Congress of Anaesthesia in Brazil is reprintedhere with permission from the World Federation of Societies of Anaesthesiologists (WFSA) andwith special thanks to the Waters family for the gracious provision of the copy of the lecture.


Waters. . . Continued from Page 9




Waters. . . Continued from Page 11



AHA and WLM Activities at the ASA2008 Annual MeetingOrlando, FloridaOctober 18-22, 2008

WLM Activities includingFriends Tea, Book Signing andBoard of Trustees Dinner

Photos courtesy of Chad Evans Wyatt andPatrick Sim.


AHA-WLM. . . Continued from Page 13

AHA 2008AnnualDinnerMeeting

Photoscourtesy ofDr. MarkSchroederand PatrickSim.

WLM Fellows. Seated from left: Dr. Adolph Giesecke, Dr. AnthonyKovac, Dr. Bradley Smith, Dr. Jonathan Berman and Dr. Kim Turner.Standing from left: Dr. Mark Mandabach, Dr. Burdett Dunbar, Dr.Douglas Bacon, Dr. David Waisel and Dr. Rafael Ortega.

Laureate ofAnesthesia HistoryInvestiture: Dr.David Wilkinson,2008 Laureate,receives the awardfrom Dr. WilliamHammonds.

Laureate of Anesthesia HistoryInvestiture: Dr. Doris K. Copegives Dr. David Wilkinson,2008 Laureate, the medal.

2008 Laureate ofAnesthesia HistoryInvestiture


Book ReviewHandbook of Therapy by Oliver T. Osborne and Morris Fishbein. Sixth edition.Chicago: American Medical Association, 1920, 752 pages.by Theodore A. Alston, M.D., Ph.D.Massachusetts General HospitalHarvard Medical School

In 1920, Osborne was a prolific Profes-sor of Therapeutics at Yale. Fishbein wasAssistant to the Editor of JAMA. Hestamped the journal as Editor from 1924-1949. In 1970, he endowed the MorrisFishbein Center for the study of the his-tory of science and medicine at the Univer-sity of Chicago. He was a champion ofmedical orthodoxy, some would say, to afault. He actively routed out quackery, buthis judgments on that often-emotionalproblem could be controversial. The fulltext of the handbook is published on-lineat books.google.com. The book deals withmedicine in general, thus illuminating theatmosphere in which anesthesia was prac-ticed soon after WWI. However, a lot of thebook pertains directly to anesthesiology.

The book starts with a description ofthe art of prescription writing. It is gener-ally preferable to specify one’s own cock-tails, though some proprietary mixturesare acceptable as long as none of the com-ponents are secret. Latin names are pre-ferred, but metric units are recommended(acidum acetylsalicylicum 325 mg insteadof 5 grains). The long list of “useful” drugsis interesting. Most are botanicals (rhu-barb, both crude nux vomica and its iso-lated strychnina) or inorganics (arsenic,lead, mercury). Very few are synthetics(aether, aethylis chloridum, chloroform,procain, early NSAIDs). Very few are ef-fective antibiotics (the organoarsenicalSalvarsan). Because of newly launchedProhibition, medicinal liquors are men-tioned as prescription drugs. In critical

illness such as malignant endocarditis,“alcohol has been used in large doses, as ithas been so frequently in all septic pro-cesses.” Ethanolic spirits of ether(Hoffmann’s drops) and chloroform can begiven enterally for a number of conditions.The therapeutic armamentarium of 1920also includes bleeding and cupping, thelatter of value in sciatica. There is muchhorse and human serum therapy, as forhemophilia, epilepsy, and meningitis (“in-traspinal” serum in that case).

Much of the book describes dreaded in-fectious diseases. One out of seven chil-dren does not reach one year of age. De-spite known toxicity from prolonged ex-posure, chloroform inhalation is offeredfor the paroxysms of whooping cough.

The chapter on anesthesia lists the es-sential items to be stocked on the “emer-gency table.” These are chloroform, ether,petrolatum (to protect the facial skin fromvapor), boric acid eye-drops, tongue for-ceps, long forceps (and gauze for swabbing),mouth gag (or cork), large needle (threadedwith strong silk), pus basin, towels, andtwo hypodermic syringes. The silk suturemay be intended for tongue traction. Re-suscitation drugs on the table are atropintablets; strychnin tablets; and ampoules ofcamphor in olive oil, aseptic ergot, epi-nephrine, and pituitary solution. Further-more, “it is advisable to have a strong well-working faradic battery, an oxygen tank,(it should be remembered that ProfessorHenderson thinks too much oxygen inether shock is inadvisable, and even ad-

vises carbon dioxid gas), transfusion ap-paratus, and warm, aseptic physiologicsaline solution.” The faradic battery ap-plied AC shocks hoped to twitch the dia-phragm in apnea. Transfusions were rareand cumbersome, and the saline was oftengiven through rectal absorption. Citrate/dextrose preservation of blood was a re-cent innovation, and direct transfusionfrom person to person is described, includ-ing the arteriovenous surgical method ofGeorge Crile.

Many negative-pressure emergency ven-tilation techniques are described, espe-cially for asphyxia neonatorum, “whichoccurs in a large proportion of deliveries.”As prevention, all newborns should be“promptly slapped repeatedly,” and, if theskin is livid, some blood can be shed fromthe cord. The ventilation method ofSchulze, swinging the baby overhead anddown to the chest, can overcome apnea.However, “this is a method which presentsmore or less of the appearance of violence,and hence it is not always practicable to doit in the presence of friends of the patient.”“If other methods fail,” mouth-to-mouthventilation can be attempted, but themethod is “somewhat inexact.”

Since so much of the other therapeuticsof the time were unsatisfactory, detailednutritional support was emphasized, andit worthwhile to examine the book for itsculinary recipes alone. For instance, in-structions are provided for nine differenttypes of gruel.

2009 WLM Booard of Trustees. Seated fromthe left: Dr. Donald Caton, Dr. LydiaConlay, Dr. William Hammonds, Dr. GeorgeBause and Dr. Adam Carinci. Standing fromthe left: Patrick Sim, Dr. Douglas Bacon, Dr.Doris K. Cope, Dr. Mark Schroeder, Dr. R.Dennis Bastron, Dr. Bradley Smith, Dr.Adolph Giesecke, Dr. Charles Tandy, Dr.Susan Vassallo, Dr. Selma Calmes, Dr. MaryEllen Warner, Dr. Jonathan Berman and Dr.Kathryn McGoldrick.


Book ReviewEnduring Contributions of Henry K. Beecher to Medicine, Science, and Society,”Editors Edward Lowenstein and Bucknam McPeek, Wolters Kluwer/Lippincott,Williams and Wilkins, International Anesthesiology Clinics, 45:4, Fall 2007 Part Iand 46:1, Winter 2008, Cincinnati.

by Bradley E. Smith, M.D.Professor of Anesthesiology, EmeritusVanderbilt University School of Medicine

This review of “Enduring Contributionsof Henry K. Beecher to Medicine, Science,and Society”, Editors Edward Lowensteinand Bucknam McPeek, Wolters Kluwer/Lippincott, Williams and Wilkins, Inter-national Anesthesiology Clinics, 45:4, Fall2007 Part I and 46:1, Winter 2008, Cincin-nati, has been delayed by several factors,the most prominent being that the pub-lishers were unwilling to provide a com-plimentary set for review.

The format is easily readable, but thisreviewer is offended by the publisher’spolicy of using numerals within the text tosubstitute for spelling out “one, two, three,etc., and the obvious use of a computer spellchecker instead of a real person proof-reader. This resulted in the occasional to-tal nonsense sentence such as “let” where“lest” was intended and “nuance” where“nuanced” was intended.

The focus of the collection consists ofseveral reprints of some Beecher reportschosen by the editors, each followed by anextensive commentary by an assigned au-thor. In addition, there are several personalrecollections of Beecher written mostly byadoring former residents and colleagues,but including one by a prominent academicanesthesiologist who points out he did notknow Beecher well at all.

Almost anomalous, but my favorite partof the collection, are the two chapters byMichael Gionfriddo which contribute awealth of previously, almost unknown de-tails about the first thirty years of Beecher’slife. Gionfriddo provides meticulouslydocumented details of this period, whichother authors intimate Beecher may haveactively obfuscated throughout his life.

Both Scott H. Podolsky and LaraFreidenfelds provide exemplary scholarlyanalysis of the respective Beecher papersthey were assigned and do not attempt tominimize the controversy and downrightanimosity engendered by these Beecherpublications, both from the anesthesiolo-gist community, and from academics inother medical fields. However, they cor-

rectly point out that non academic medi-cal practitioners and the public may havebeen more receptive to Beecher’s variousstirring pronouncements.

George A. Mashour’s chapter was pre-viously published in a similar form in thisjournal (Bulletin of Anesthesia History). How-ever, for those who missed it or who haveforgotten it, it is a MUST READ portionof this book. It outlines Beecher’s involve-ment with the CIA and US Army and theuse of LSD in human subjects. Mashouropines that all of Beecher’s subsequent his-tory could be reinterpreted in light of thispreviously little publicized Beecher epi-sode.

A very interesting summary evaluationof Beecher’s contributions was written by ahighly qualified academic anesthesiolo-gist, William Hamilton. With authorityhe reminds us of the resistance to academicanesthesia which Beecher and most earlyacademics faced. Hamilton was able toframe Beecher’s accomplishments in abroad context of the contemporary com-plex of issues and reactions to Beecherwhich is lacking in some of the other chap-ters.

The balance of the chapters are gener-ally complimentary recollections ofBeecher’s more endearing qualities and afew of his innocuous foibles by former resi-dents, long term friends, or long term co-faculty members.

The editors point out that this publica-tion is not intended as a biography. How-ever, this reviewer doubts that a much morerevealing biography is likely to appear.Due to Beecher’s lifelong crusade to con-fuse his past and to present himself inpublic in the best possible perception, itseems unlikely that much reliable newsource material will ever become available.

The editors have produced essentiallya paean or panegyric to Beecher. Since thiswork is likely to be the only historic/bio-graphic work on Beecher, this reviewerwishes that a few contributions from au-thors more critical of Beecher had been

included. I feel this might have resulted ina more balanced record of the man for fu-ture readers. Many such qualified commen-tators are still alive.

However, even Will Shakespeare some-times voiced some crazy opinions. Withapologies to Will and his Mark Antony,let me propose a rewrite: “The good thatmen do should live after them! Let (the evilbe) their other history be interred with theirbones.” The good accomplished by HarryKnowles Unangst should, indeed, obscureany other remembrance of him. This book,a loving memorial, will undoubtedly fa-cilitate that result.


From the Literatureby A.J. Wright, M.L.S.Associate Professor and Clinical LibrarianDepartment of AnesthesiologyUniversity of Alabama at Birmingham

Note: I have examined most of the items listedin this column. Books can be listed here morethan once as new reviews appear. Older ar-ticles are included as I work through a largebacklog of materials. Some listings are not di-rectly related to anesthesia, pain or critical care;I interpret those categories very broadly. Somewill concern individuals important in the his-tory of the specialty [i.e., Harvey Cushing orWilliam Halsted] who also achieved in otherareas or widely-used equipment. I also includecareer profiles of living individuals. Non-En-glish materials are so indicated. I urge readersto send me any citations, especially those not inEnglish, that I may otherwise miss!

BooksBeale, Norman. Joseph Priestley in Calne.

Hobnob Press, 2008. 96pp. [A brief articleabout this book and author is “Human sideof Calne chemist.” Wiltshire Gazette &Herald (UK) 5 November 2008]

Caton D, McGoldrick KE, eds. Careersin Anesthesiology XI: Professionalism The Joyof Volunteering. [Essays from Drs. KathrynE. McGoldbrick, Victor C. Baum, ElliottV. Miller, William H. Rosenblatt, CharlesC. Tandy, Lydia A. Conlay, Rafael Ortega,George S. Bause] Wood Library-Museumof Anesthesiology, 2008. 199pp.

Johnson, Steven. The Invention of Air: AStory of Science, Faith, Revolution, and theBirth of America. Riverhead, 2009. 256pp.[Joseph Priestley in America; rev. Winches-ter S. Publishers Weekly 10 November 2008,p.40]

Kendall J. The Man Who Made Lists:Love, Death, Madness and the Creation of‘Roget’s Thesaurus’. G.P. Putnam’s Sons,2008. 297pp. [Biography of Peter MarkRoget, who participated in the nitrous ox-ide experiments with Beddoes and Davy;rev. Roy MD. Am J Psychiatry 165: 1618-1619, 2008]

Sykes K, Bunker J, eds. Anaesthesia andthe Practice of Medicine: Historical Perspec-tives. Royal Society of Medicine Press,2007. 224pp. [Rev. Hutter C. Anaesthesia63:1155-1156, 2008]

Articles and Book ChaptersAlumni profile: Gilbert E. Kinyon, MD.

University of Iowa Department of AnesthesiaNewsletter Fall 2008, p. 32 [3 illus.].

Bacon DR. Crown jewels or ugly stepContinued on Page 18

children? The care and feeding of the foun-dations [including the WLM]. ASA News-letter 72(9):1-2, September 2008 [editorial;1 ref.].

Ball C. The Geoffrey Kaye Museum ofAnaesthetic History: creating a meaning-ful display. Anaesth Intens Care 36, suppl1:41-43, 2008 [2 illus.].

Bause GS. WLM’s NicholasSamponaro, M.D., Collection: indirectgifts from airway pioneer Chevalier Jack-son. ASA Newsletter 72(9):18-19, Septem-ber 2008 [2 illus.].

Bause GS, Berman JC, Haridas RP,Urdaneta F. A centennial salute to Hewitt’soral “air-way”: a pictorial sampler fromthe Wood Library-Museum. ASA Newslet-ter 72(9):22-23, September 2008 [Illus.].

Beresford L. First modern ICU turns50. Anesthesiology News 34(10):67, October2008 [Opened by Peter Safar in September1958 in Baltimore; 6 illus.].

Bosenberg AT, Ing RJ, Thomas JM. Fiftyyears of paediatric anaesthesia—new ap-proaches to an old technique. S Afr Med J96(9 pt. 2):880-888, September 2006 [2 illus.,31 refs.].

Bovill JG. Inhalation anaesthesia: fromdiethyl ether to xenon. Handb ExpPharmacol 182:121-142, 2008.

Calmes SH. Dr. Arthur Guedel’s con-tributions to airway management. ASANewsletter 72(9):14-16, September 2008 [6illus., 7 refs.].

Conlay LA. The year of the airway. ASANewsletter 72(9):8-9, 17, September 2008 [4illus., 3 refs.].

Conlay LA, Sim PP. Anesthetics in his-tory, from ingestion to inhalation: recentsignificant acquisitions of the Wood Li-brary-Museum. ASA Newsletter 72(9):24-27, 33, September 2008 [6 illus., bibliogra-phy].

Constantinescu N. Transverse laparo-tomy and splenectomy under local anes-thesia. 1930. Chirurgia (Bucur) 103(1):95-97,Jan-Feb 2008 [Romanian].

Cooper MG, Corlette T. Dr. Corlette andthe first textbook of regional anaesthesiain Australia. Anaesth Intens Care 36, suppl1:7-11, 2008 [4 illus., 14 refs., bibliogra-phy].

Cope DK. The Anesthesia History As-sociation: a piece of cake! ASA Newsletter72(9): 46-47, September 2008 [illus., 2 refs.].

Desmonts JM. A look at the story of 50years of French anesthesia and recovery.Ann Fr Anesth Reanim 27 suppl 2:S273-S274, Sep 2008 [French].

Eklund J. Late start for Swedish anes-thesiology. Development of anesthesiologyin Sweden 1904-1942 reflected inLakartidningen. 103(19):1541-1544, May 10-16, 2006 [Swedish].

Faust RJ. World War II short course: apersonal view. Anesthesiology 106:639, 2007[letter; 2 refs.].

Gallucci JM. Who deserves credit fordiscovering ether’s use as a surgical anes-thetic? J Hist Dent 56(1):38-43, spring 2008.

Giesecke AH, Matsuki A. Hanaoka: thegreat master of medicine, and his book onrare diseases. ASA Newsletter 72(9):28-30,September 2008 [4 illus., bibliography].

Gleason J. A day of anesthesia in Leba-non: years of strife hone skills for traumaanesthesia. Middle East J Anesthesiol19(4):717-722, Feb 2008.

Gliantsev SP, Gudkova MV. To the his-tory of organization and development ofcardiac anesthesiology in the A.N. BakulevResearch Center of Cardiovascular Sur-gery of the Russian Academy of MedicalSciences: the start of activities (1956-1965).Anesteziol Reanimatol 3:6-14, May-June 2006[Russian].

Goerig M, Brandt L, Schwarz W. GoerigM, Krier C, Schwarz W. Founder membersof the German Working Group ofAnaesthesiology—Part 38. Prof. Dr. HansFranz Edmund Killian (1892-1982). AnasthIntensivmed 48:103-104, 2007 [German;portrait].

Goerig M, Krier C, Schwarz W. Foundermembers of the German Working Groupof Anaesthesiology—Part 37. Prof. Dr. OttoHeinrich Just (*1922). Anasth Intensivmed48:45-46, 2007 [German; portrait].

Goerig M, Krier C, Schwarz W. Foundermembers of the German Working Groupof Anaesthesiology—Part 39. Prof. Dr.Karl-Hans Brautigam (1924-1999). AnasthIntensivmed 48:147, 2007 [German; por-trait].

Goerig M, Schwarz W. Founder mem-bers of the German Working Group ofAnaesthesiology—Part 40. Dr. Hans Chris-tian Iversen (1924-2006). AnasthIntensivmed 48:206, 2007 [German; por-


trait].Goerig M, Schwarz W. Founder mem-

bers of the German Working Group ofAnaesthesiology—Part 41. Prof. Dr. JosefKloss (*1915). Anasth Intensivmed 48:345,2007 [German; portrait].

Goerig M, Schwarz W. Founder mem-bers of the German Working Group ofAnaesthesiology—Part 42. Dr. AlexanderWietz-Riemer (1919-2006). AnasthIntensivmed 48:558, 2007 [German; por-trait].

Goerig M, Schwarz W. Founder mem-bers of the German Working Group ofAnaesthesiology—Part 43. Dr. WilhelmFey (1914-2003). Anasth Intensivmed48:630, 2007 [German; portrait].

Goerig M, Schwarz W. Founder mem-bers of the German Working Group ofAnaesthesiology—Part 44. Priv. Doz. Dr.Theodor Gerhardt Schmitz (1921-1970).Anasth Intensivmed 48:698-699, 2007 [Ger-man; portrait].

Grathwohl KW, Venticinque SG. Orga-nizational characteristics of the austereintensive care unit: the evolution of mili-tary trauma and critical care medicine;applications for civilian medical care sys-tems. Crit Car Med 36(7 suppl):S275-S283,Jul 2008.

Greenland KB, Eley V, Edwards MJ,Allen P, Irwin MG. The origins of the sniff-ing position and the Three Axes AlignmentTheory for direct laryngoscope. AnaesthIntens Care 36, suppl 1:23-27, 2008 [5 illus.,16 refs.].

Grzybowski A. Cocaine and the eye: ahistorical overview. Ophthalmologica 222(5):296-301, 2008.

Haridas RP. The inventor of the dividedairway [John Urban Human?]. Anaesthesia63: 1263-1264, 2008 [4 refs.].

Holland R. Against the odds. AnaesthIntens Care 36, suppl 1:3-6, 2008 [Fisherand Paykel company and development ofhumidifiers; 8 illus., 3 refs.].

Holmes, Richard. The Age of Wonder.Harper Press, 2008 [2009 in the U.S.] 554pp.[History of scientific discovery in the late18th and early 19th centuries includes mate-rial on Thomas Beddoes and HumphryDavy; rev. Fara P. Literary Review October2008].

Hospital dedicates surgical waitingroom. Poughkeepsie [NY] Journal 13 Novem-ber 2008 [Room at St. Francis Hospitalnamed after Dr. Robert E. Furlong, an an-esthesiologist who died in April 2007.].

Houghton IT. Mismatched connections.Anaesth Intens Care 36, suppl 1:19-22, 2008[4 illus., table, 6 refs.].

Hunting P. Thomas Beddoes (1760-1808), founder of the Pneumatic MedicalInstitution. J Med Biog 16: 235-236, 2008[2 illus.].

Iran’s father of anesthesia honored [AliFar, born in Tabriz in 1916]. Mathaba.net9 October 2008.

Johans TG. Deciphering a Neanderthaltattoo. ASA Newsletter 72(11):46, Novem-ber 2008 [4 refs.].

Lebedinskii KM. Thymectomy in my-asthenia patients: the history ofanesthesiological strategy. Vestn Khir Im II Grek 165(2):110-113, 2006 [Russian].

Lichtor JL. I can’t take my eyes off thisweb site (with apologies to Frankie Valli).Anesthesiology 109(6): 960-961, December2008 [history of journal’s web site; 2 illus.,1 ref.].

Markel H. Not so great moments: the“discovery” of ether anesthesia and it’s “re-discovery” by Hollywood. JAMA300(18):2188-2190, November 12, 2008 [1illus., 13 refs.].

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Lit. . . Continued from Page 17



Bulletin of Anesthesia HistoryDoris K. Cope, M.D., Editor200 Delafield Road, Suite 2070Pittsburgh, PA 15215U.S.A.

The winner of The AnesthesiaFoundation’s 2008 Book/Multimedia Edu-cation Award was announced on October20, 2008, at the American Society of Anes-thesiologists Annual Meeting in Orlando,Florida. James R. Munis, M.D., Ph.D., re-ceived the award for his monograph JustJustJustJustJustEnough PhysiologyEnough PhysiologyEnough PhysiologyEnough PhysiologyEnough Physiology. Dr. Munis will bepresented the award of $10,000 at the Acad-emy of Anesthesiology 2009 spring meet-ing in St. Petersburg, Florida.

This prestigious award is awarded ev-ery four years for excellence and innova-tion in books or multimedia with signifi-

Anesthesia Foundation 2008 Book/Multimedia Award Winner Named

cant impact on the science and practice ofanesthesiology, critical care, or pain medi-cine. Previous award winners include Dr.B. Raymond Fink (1978-1979) for LLLLLaryn-aryn-aryn-aryn-aryn-geal Biomechanicsgeal Biomechanicsgeal Biomechanicsgeal Biomechanicsgeal Biomechanics, Dr. David L. Brown(1991-1993) for the Atlas of RegionalAtlas of RegionalAtlas of RegionalAtlas of RegionalAtlas of RegionalAnesthesiaAnesthesiaAnesthesiaAnesthesiaAnesthesia, and Julie Fenster for EtherEtherEtherEtherEtherDayDayDayDayDay.

James R. Munis, M.D., Ph.D., is Assis-tant Professor of Anesthesiology and Physi-ology at the Mayo School of Medicine inRochester, Minnesota. He teaches Cardiop-ulmonary Physiology to medical students,residents, fellows and graduate students.

Dr. Munis has done clinical research incerebral perfusion pressure and intervas-cular volume assessment.

His single-authored monograph JustJustJustJustJustEnough PhysiologyEnough PhysiologyEnough PhysiologyEnough PhysiologyEnough Physiology is a core resource inthe Anesthesiology Residency programand in the physiology course in the MayoSchool of Medicine.

Photo of Dr. Ralph M. Waters in Brazil in 1964.Photo reprinted here with permission from the LucienMorris, M.D., archives.

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