History of Cardiology

Two cancellations and a Red Cross stamp issued by Belgium in 1987 was presented in whom Corneille Heymans, the Nobel Laureate of 1938 was honored. Corneille Heymans was bornon March 28, 1892 in Ghent and received his MD degree in 1921. He received the Nobel Prize in physiology and medicine in 1938 for his contributions to the basic control mechanisms of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems via sinus caroticu s. He developed an isolated head technique in which one dog served as a donor and another dog as recipient. This method allowed the cerebral circulation to be maintained in the recipient dog. Heymans found that the carotid vein is sensitive to changes in blood pressure and transmits a signal to the respiratory center in the brain. He also found that the carotid body is sensitive to changes in the !eve! of oxygen and carbon dioxide. For example, if arterial oxygen is !owered, the carotid body sends a signal to the respiratory center, and the ra te of respiration increases, so that uptake and transport of oxygen to the tissues are also increased.