Mysterious Heparin: The Key to Open Heart Surgery

John H. Gryfe is an oral and maxillofacial surgeon practicing in
Toronto.

Heparin, an extract from liver cells, is the drug that prevents blood
clotting during cardiovascular surgery. (Clots cause blood vessels to
become plugged, leading to a variety of disastrous situations including
strokes, heart attacks, or the death of tissue beyond the obstruction.)
Its use is integral to the function of heart/lung by-pass machines.

In this book, Bigelow, a Canadian pioneer in heart surgery, relates the
frustrations and difficulties that—for almost 20 years after
heparin’s discovery in 1916—plagued attempts to clinically use the
drug with success.

In a humble yet knowledgeable first-person narrative, Bigelow recounts
the path to success discovered by his generation’s, and an earlier
generation’s, scientists. This is the story of medical research in the
heyday of the University of Toronto’s international limelight,
presented in a descriptive, folksy style. It is a fascinating yet
minimally technical journey through laboratories and operating rooms on
the trail of a monumental discovery. The trip becomes all the better
because the travel co-ordinator was part of the action.