History and Function of Heart-Lung Machines

Vocabulary terms and key concepts covering the development, operation, and historical figures associated with heart-lung machines and open-heart surgery.

Heart-lung machine

A device that takes over for a patient's heart and lungs during surgery, pumping blood and keeping the body alive while the heart is no longer beating.

Dr. John H. Gibbon Jr.

The doctor who performed a successful operation in $1953$ using a heart-lung machine, permanently changing heart surgery.

Oxygenator

A device in a heart-lung machine that functions like the lungs by adding oxygen to blood cells before the blood returns to the body.

Roller pumps

Components in a heart-lung machine that keep blood flowing continuously during surgery.

Dr. Daniel Hale Williams

The physician credited with performing the first open-heart surgery in $1893$ in Chicago, Illinois.

James Cornish

A patient with a deep stab wound in his chest whose heart was sewn shut by Dr. Daniel Hale Williams in $1893$, saving his life.

Mary Gibbon

The wife of Dr. John H. Gibbon Jr. who assisted him in creating the heart-lung machine.

Pumping volume of a heart-lung machine

The heart-lung machine pumps $1.3\text{ gallons}$ ($4.9\text{ L}$) of blood each minute during surgery.

Smaller oxygenators

Compact and more efficient modern oxygenators designed to operate on the hearts of children and babies.