This is an exceptionally well written, well illustrated, fully referenced history of cardiothoracic surgery from ancient times up to the introduction of open-heart surgery in the 1950s. It also has chapters on the history of cardiopulmonary resuscitation, bronchoscopy, esophagoscopy and thoracoscopy, electrocardiography, cardiac catheterization, angiocardiography, percussion and auscultation, thoracic anesthesia, estimation of blood pressure and temperature, blood transfusion, and the discovery of the circulation of the blood. The book includes extracts from the writings of early clinicians and contains an extensive bibliography.