Biomaterial Database

George Ralph Mines, ventricular fibrillation and the discovery of the vulnerable period. 1997

R A DeSilva

Division of Cardiology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, USA.

The discovery of the vulnerable period of the ventricle unmasked one of the major electrical properties of the heart. Since its description by George Ralph Mines in 1914, it has become a crucial concept in understanding the electrophysiologic basis for ventricular fibrillation. Mines also proposed the theoretical basis for the occurrence of reentrant arrhythmias. Although these concepts are widely known, Mines himself remains an obscure figure since his own sudden death at a young age. Mines was a talented researcher who had a short but prolific career in electrophysiology. The historical importance of his work lies in the influence he had on our understanding and treatment of cardiac arrhythmias as well as in the experimental methods he developed, which inspired a new era of quantitative thinking in electrophysiology.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D002170	Canada	The largest country in North America, comprising 10 provinces and three territories. Its capital is Ottawa.
D002309	Cardiology	The study of the heart, its physiology, and its functions.	Angiology,Cardiovascular Disease Specialty,Vascular Medicine,Disease Specialty, Cardiovascular,Medicine, Vascular,Specialty, Cardiovascular Disease
D004594	Electrophysiology	The study of the generation and behavior of electrical charges in living organisms particularly the nervous system and the effects of electricity on living organisms.
D004739	England	A part of Great Britain within the United Kingdom.
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D014693	Ventricular Fibrillation	A potentially lethal cardiac arrhythmia that is characterized by uncoordinated extremely rapid firing of electrical impulses (400-600/min) in HEART VENTRICLES. Such asynchronous ventricular quivering or fibrillation prevents any effective cardiac output and results in unconsciousness (SYNCOPE). It is one of the major electrocardiographic patterns seen with CARDIAC ARREST.	Fibrillation, Ventricular,Fibrillations, Ventricular,Ventricular Fibrillations
D049672	History, 19th Century	Time period from 1801 through 1900 of the common era.	19th Century History,19th Cent. History (Medicine),19th Cent. History of Medicine,19th Cent. Medicine,Historical Events, 19th Century,History of Medicine, 19th Cent.,History, Nineteenth Century,Medical History, 19th Cent.,Medicine, 19th Cent.,19th Cent. Histories (Medicine),19th Century Histories,Cent. Histories, 19th (Medicine),Cent. History, 19th (Medicine),Century Histories, 19th,Century Histories, Nineteenth,Century History, 19th,Century History, Nineteenth,Histories, 19th Cent. (Medicine),Histories, 19th Century,Histories, Nineteenth Century,History, 19th Cent. (Medicine),Nineteenth Century Histories,Nineteenth Century History
D049673	History, 20th Century	Time period from 1901 through 2000 of the common era.	20th Century History,20th Cent. History (Medicine),20th Cent. History of Medicine,20th Cent. Medicine,Historical Events, 20th Century,History of Medicine, 20th Cent.,History, Twentieth Century,Medical History, 20th Cent.,Medicine, 20th Cent.,20th Cent. Histories (Medicine),20th Century Histories,Cent. Histories, 20th (Medicine),Cent. History, 20th (Medicine),Century Histories, 20th,Century Histories, Twentieth,Century History, 20th,Century History, Twentieth,Histories, 20th Cent. (Medicine),Histories, 20th Century,Histories, Twentieth Century,History, 20th Cent. (Medicine),Twentieth Century Histories,Twentieth Century History