Lindbergh and the biological sciences (a personal reminiscence)

Area of Science:

• Cardiovascular research
• Organ transplantation
• Biomedical engineering

Background:

• Charles Lindbergh's interest in open-heart surgery led to collaboration with Alexis Carrel.
• Initial focus shifted to developing a perfusion system for ex vivo organ culture.
• Lindbergh developed a novel pump with floating glass valves by 1934.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a perfusion system for whole organ culture outside the body.
• To utilize the developed pump in organ culture experiments.
• To explore applications of the pump in cardiovascular research and blood substitute studies.

Main Methods:

• Collaboration between Lindbergh, Carrel, and the narrator at the Rockefeller Institute.
• Utilization of Lindbergh's perfusion pump for organ culture.
• Experimentation with hemocyanin as a potential blood substitute.
• Application of the pump in studying arterial cholesterol uptake.

Main Results:

• Development of a perfusion pump with precise control over perfusion pressure and rate.
• Successful application of the pump in organ culture experiments.
• Exploration of hemocyanin and arterial cholesterol metabolism.

Conclusions:

• Lindbergh's perfusion pump was a significant development for organ culture.
• The pump proved useful in various biomedical research applications, including cardiovascular studies.
• The research contributed to advancements in organ preservation and understanding of arterial diseases.