History of cardiac trauma surgery A J Nicol, MB ChB, FCS (SA), PhD; P H Navsaria, MB ChB, FCS (SA), MMed (Surg); D Kahn, MB ChB, FCS (SA), ChM Department of Surgery, Groote Schuur Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa Corresponding author: A Nicol (
[email protected]) The ancient Egyptians, although realising the diaphragm, of the small intestine, of the coronary artery and that blood in the the anatomical importance of the heart, stomach and of the liver is deadly.’[8,9] Aristotle pericardial sac could compress the heart and were largely responsible for the aura of (384 - 322 BC) wrote that ‘The heart again restrict its movement.[17] mysticism and superstition that enveloped is the only one of the viscera, and indeed the heart for centuries. The Egyptian Book the only part of the body, that is unable to The nihilism surrounding cardiac injuries of the Dead (c. 1567 BC) describes how, on tolerate any serious affection. This is but what continued and in 1804 John Bell published entry to the underworld, the jackal-headed might reasonably be expected. For, if the his Discourses of Nature and Care of Wounds, Anubis weighed the heart of the deceased primary or dominant part be diseased, there declaring that ‘there is so little to be done … against a statue of the goddess of truth and is nothing from which the other parts which and the signs and consequences are so clear, justice.[1,2] If the heart weighed the same, the depend upon it can derive sucour’.[10,11] Celsus that it is a waste of time to speak longer of dead person was admitted ‘to the company (1st century AD) recognised the clinical wounds of the heart’.[5,18] of Osiris and the blessed; if not, if his heart features of shock associated with a cardiac was heavy and laden with sin, it was cast to injury when he wrote in De Medicina that, There is dispute over who should be named the devouring beast Ammit’.[3] ‘When the heart is wounded much blood as the first modern cardiac surgeon.