It is not difficult to explain why it was decided to reproduce some of Einthoven's papers with photographic fidelity. The immense amount of information provided by electrocardiography, which in spite of its natural limitations has become one of the main diagnostic procedures in cardio logy and at the same time a cornerstone of scientific research, is universally acknowledged. On the other hand, we have also come to realize how important it is not only to know the historical perspective of cardiology, or any other field of medicine, but also to study the original sources from which our...

The following presents the proceedings of the Einthoven meeting in Leiden, 1-2 November 1979. This meeting aimed at reviewing the historical develop ment of a few selected cardiological topics as a continuous process. Essentially this means reviewing three phases: the early history, the recent past, and the present with an outlook to the future. Mainly because of the chosen fields - clearly our choice of heart catheterization, angiocardiography, and cardiac surgery was not accidental- the emphasis was on recent history, of which its pioneers and their contemporaries can still testify. The...