Pathfinders in oncology from the end of the 19th century to the first description of Ewing sarcoma.

During the period 1884 to 1922, the only option in cases of operable cancers was radical surgery, and only a minority of patients were cured. Sporadic attempts were made to treat inoperable cancer patients with bacterial toxins; however, with the discovery of x-ray and radium, the era of radiation treatment as an alternative to surgery began. The discovery of transmissible cancers and experimental growth of cancer cells offered new information and not only led to a better understanding of the cellular composition of cancers but also yielded important information that ultimately paved the way to chemotherapy. These efforts also advanced the understanding of the pathogenesis of tumors and induced new clinical and pathologic classifications and subspecializations. It is important to emphasize that many of the initiatives and discoveries made in Europe in the second half of the 19th century were first put into clinical practice in the United States during the first 2 decades of the 20th century, including the use of x-ray and radium for irradiation and as diagnostic tools. All things considered, the progress made between 1884 and 1922 came about through the hard work of many eminent individuals; however, there were 7 foresighted pathfinders (3 surgeons, 2 pathologists, 1 internist, and 1 physicist) who-despite their widely diverse backgrounds, personalities, and expertise-made remarkable contributions to oncology to an extent that is still felt today.

The Earliest Blood Transfusions in 17th-Century in Italy (1667-1668).

Historical accounts of the earliest experiments in blood transfusion celebrate work done in France and England in 1667 to 1668. Less attention has been given to pioneering experiments conducted at the same period in Italy. We review records of the first blood transfusion experiments conducted in 17th century Italy. Using original source documents, we provide details of early experiments focusing on the identity of early researchers, their instruments, and techniques. Accounts of the period describe animal-to-animal, animal-to-human, and human-to-human transfusions. We highlight how transfusion was considered a new form of emergency surgery, carried out in order to save patients who could not be cured with traditional therapy of the time.

The University of Toronto's lasting contribution to war surgery: how Maj. L. Bruce Robertson fundamentally transformed thinking toward blood transfusion during the First World War.

SUMMARY: During the Great War, Canadian military surgeons produced some of the greatest innovations to improve survival on the battlefield. Arguably, the most important was bringing blood transfusion practice close to the edge of the battlefield to resuscitate the many casualties dying of hemorrhagic shock. Dr. L. Bruce Robertson of the Canadian Army Medical Corps was the pioneering surgeon from the University of Toronto who was able to demonstrate the benefit of blood transfusions near the front line and counter the belief that saline was the resuscitation fluid of choice in military medicine. Robertson would go on to survive the Great War, but would be taken early in life by influenza. Despite his life and career being cut short, Robertson's work is still carried on today by many military medical organizations who strive to bring blood to the wounded in austere and dangerous settings. This article has an Appendix, available at canjsurg.ca.

[Blood representations associated to chronic transfused patients: Symbolic interpretations and ethical perspectives]. / Lectures des représentations du sang chez les receveurs chroniques de produits sanguins labiles : interprétations symboliques et perspectives éthiques.

Since the beginning of the 20th century, major technological developments have been made in blood transfusion. Although numerous sociological studies have been conducted on donors, few have highlighted transfused patients, and in this case, the attention has almost exclusively been focused on transfusion risks in patients. Conversely, blood representations associated with the chronically transfused patients have not really been explored in the literature. Based on interviews conducted among chronically transfused patients (patients with hemoglobinopathy, malignant hemopathy or cancer), this present study enables to understand their needs and their expectations through their symbolic representations and their interpretations of blood transfusion, raising tensions as well ethical perspectives.

[Norman Bethune (1890-1939), an involved doctor, icon of the blood transfusion history]. / Norman Béthune (1890-1939) médecin engagé et icône de la transfusion sanguine.

Norman Bethune was born in 1890, in Gravenhurst (Ontario, Canada). Thereafter a strong surgical training, he implied in thoracic surgery and fight against tuberculosis. His political opinions led him to join the Republicans in the Spanish Civil War. He played an important part in the development of blood transfusion on the battlefield. Then he joined China with communist troops and therein developed surgical units and accelerated training for health personal. He died of septicemia in 1939.

Half a century of Dutch transplant immunology.

The sixties have not only witnessed the start of the Dutch Society for Immunology (NvvI), but were also the flourishing beginning of the discipline of transplant immunology. The interest in immunology in the Netherlands had its start in the context of blood transfusions and not for instance in the field of infectious disease, as in many other countries. It began in the 1950-ties thanks to Joghem van Loghem at that time director of the Central Laboratory of Blood Transfusion in Amsterdam. The discoveries of these times have had major impact for transfusion medicine, hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and organ transplantation. In this review we will look back at some early highlights of Dutch transplant immunology and put them in the perspective of some recent developments.

[Blood derivatives in Puerto Rico: History of the transfusion services and estimate of the consumption of blood units]. / Derivados de sangre en Puerto Rico: Historia de los Servicios de Transfusión y Estimado del Consumo de Unidades de Sangre.

Puerto Rico has eight hospital blood banks and three community blood banks for a population around four million. The Red Cross has been in existence in Puerto Rico since 1893 under the Spanish Governance but it was not until 1907 which became the American Red Cross (ARC). Since then it has been serving Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. About 171.222 blood components, which 45% are of the ARC, are used. There are a number of variations in utilization and a number of factors that are influencing us at the national and local level and that is why collaboration is required in the management plan of blood components at each hospital and implementation of maximum units required for each case of surgery.

[Why infusion surgery did not start clinical transfusiology?].

The article is devoted to the history of blood transfusion in the XVII century. The theoretical basis of the method was the publication in 1628 in London W. Harvey hypothesis about the circulation of blood, and the practical - conducted in 1656 in Oxford K. Wren experiments to inject of various liquids into the bloodstream. Methods for blood transfusions from animals to animals in February-April 1667 developed in England R. Lower and E. King. The priority of the first transfusion of blood from the animal to man belongs to France. June 15, 1667 in Paris J.-B. Denis and barber-surgeon P. Emmerez using the Lower-King method transfused blood of a lamb to patients suffering from anemia. During the 2nd half of 1667 -- the spring of 1668 R. Lower, E. King and S. Pepis in England, J.-B. Denis and P. Emmerez in France, G. Riva and P.Manfredi in Italy, B. Kauffmann and M. Portmann in Germany had several successful blood transfusions. A total of 19 procedures done 10 sick people and 2 healthy man, but in the spring of 1668 public opinion related the death of a patient to the procedure. The Paris court held in April 1668 limited the blood transfusions, which in 1678 has been discontinued by law, without offering no impact on its renewal in the XIX century.

Blood transfusion at the time of the First World War--practice and promise at the birth of transfusion medicine.

The centenary of the start of the First World War has stirred considerable interest in the political, social, military and human factors of the time and how they interacted to produce and sustain the material and human destruction in the 4 years of the war and beyond. Medical practice may appear distant and static and perhaps seems to have been somewhat ineffectual in the face of so much trauma and in the light of the enormous advances in medicine and surgery over the last century. However, this is an illusion of time and of course medical, surgical and psychiatric knowledge and procedures were developing rapidly at the time and the war years accelerated implementation of many important advances. Transfusion practice lay at the heart of resuscitation, and although direct transfusion from donor to recipient was still used, Geoffrey Keynes from Britain, Oswald Robertson from America and his namesake Lawrence Bruce Robertson from Canada, developed methods for indirect transfusion from donor to recipient by storing blood in bottles and also blood-banking that laid the foundation of modern transfusion medicine. This review explores the historical setting behind the development of blood transfusion up to the start of the First World War and on how they progressed during the war and afterwards. A fresh look may renew interest in how a novel medical speciality responded to the needs of war and of post-war society.

Blood transfusion safety: a new philosophy.

Blood transfusion safety has had a chequered history, and there are current and future challenges. Internationally, there is no clear consensus for many aspects of the provision of safe blood, although pan-national legislation does provide a baseline framework in the European Union. Costs are rising, and new safety measures can appear expensive, especially when tested against some other medical interventions, such as cancer treatment and vaccination programmes. In this article, it is proposed that a comprehensive approach is taken to the issue of blood transfusion safety that considers all aspects of the process rather than considering only new measures. The need for an agreed level of safety for specified and unknown risks is also suggested. The importance of providing care and support for those inadvertently injured as a result of transfusion problems is also made. Given that the current blood safety decision process often uses a utilitarian principle for decision making--through the calculation of Quality Adjusted Life Years--an alternative philosophy is proposed. A social contract for blood safety, based on the principles of 'justice as fairness' developed by John Rawls, is recommended as a means of providing an agreed level of safety, containing costs and providing support for any adverse outcomes.

"The blood fights on in other veins": Norman Bethune and the transfusion of cadaver blood in the Spanish Civil War.

During the Spanish Civil War, Dr. Norman Bethune instituted a research laboratory to determine whether the blood from cadavers could be transfused into wounded soldiers and civilians at the front. Dr. Herman J. Muller joined him in this effort carrying out extensive experimentation into the technique and practice of such transfusions. At the same time, Bethune was in frequent contact with Dr. Reginald Saxton who later publicly advocated that the Spanish government should organize a large-scale supply of cadaver blood to the front-line hospitals. Recent evidence suggests that Saxton carried out cadaveric transfusions to an extent not previously recognized.

[Outstanding domestic surgeon Vladimir Nikolayevich Shamov and his contribution to the development of the study of the blood transfusion (the 130th anniversary of his birth and the 50th anniversary of his death)].

The article is devoted to the memory of the outstanding domestic surgeon, Honoured Science Worker of the Ukrainian SSR, academician of the AMS of the USSR, who headed the Department of the Faculty Surgery of the Kharkov Medical Institute during 16 years (1923-1939), his name is associated with the development of the blood transfusion in our country.