Complete Record - Heirs of Hippocrates No. 2317

SIR THOMAS LEWIS (1881-1945) The mechanism of the heart beat. Shaw 1911 xvi, 295 pp., illus. (some col.), 5 fold. plates, diagrs. 24.9 cm.

Lewis decided to devote his major efforts to cardiovascular research after working with Sir James Mackenzie (see No. 2149) early in his career. He remained at University College Hospital for his entire professional life, where he concentrated primarily on clinical investigation but was also active in teaching and patient care. During his medical service in World War I, he coined the term effort syndrome to identify a functional heart disorder first observed in soldiers from the Western Front. The present work is one of his earliest and most important books, published when he was only twenty-nine. Dedicated to Mackenzie and Willem Einthoven (see No. 2231), Lewis has set forth principles of cardiac physiology which are the very basis of modern clinical procedures. A scarce book, it is well-illustrated with electrocardiographic tracings and contains valuable bibliographies. The two later editions were greatly enlarged to include new research and findings.

See Related Record(s): 2149 2231

Cited references: Garrison-Morton 854 (2nd., 1920)

Gift of John Martin, M.D.