Werner Forssmann

Werner Forssmann's scientific contributions made him lose his job twice and left him effectively banished from practicing cardiology, until 27 years later, when he won a Nobel Prize for them. In 1927, against the approval of his department chief, he worked with a nurse who volunteered to try to enact his idea – to stick a catheter down her vein to the heart. However, unbeknownst to her, while Forssmann was ‘preparing’ the experiment, he had decided instead to push the catheter into his own body. The nurse led him down to the X-Ray department, and Forssmann literally had to fight his way into the room. Under the X-Ray machine, Forssmann was able to shove the catheter all the way until he reached the ventricular cavity. While publishing the results initially tarnished his reputation as a cardiac surgeon, his efforts have been valuable for cardiac diagnosis and many cardiac interventions such as pacemakers, internal defibrillators, and valve replacement. Forssmann’s actions may be considered wrong medical practice, but they also exemplify the ethical principle of not performing a life-risking experiment unless the physician themselves would be willing to do so.

Link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0002914996008338

 -Swarup