WIGGERS,CARL,J. AND THE PULMONARY CIRCULATION - A YOUNG MAN IN SEARCHOF EXCELLENCE

Oddly, Carl Wiggers (1883-1962), who is remembered for his work on the systemic circulation, may be considered the ''American father of the pulmonary circulation.'' In nearly 20 papers published in the American Journal of Physiology between 1909 and 1925, he reported the first re liable pressure contours in the pulmonary artery, inquired into the re lationship between respiration and pulmonary arterial pressure, examin ed right atrial and right ventricular function, and demonstrated how r ight and left heart dynamics relate to heart sounds. He also stimulate d direct visualization of the lung microcirculation. Method and concep t are inextricably linked in the progress of science. His contribution s to the pulmonary circulation were based on his high-fidelity pressur e and sound recording instruments, which he ultimately applied in the left heart. Wiggers' search for excellence in method brought him well- deserved fame in the systemic circulation, but the search began in the lung.