Title:

Letter from Virginia Apgar to F. W. Clement

Creator:

Apgar, Virginia

Recipient:

Clement, F. W.

Date:

25 April 1938

Description:

Dr. Clement had asked Apgar's advice about a puzzling case in which spinal anesthesia seemed to cause paralysis long after the operation. In this letter, she encouraged him to publish an account of the case, which was the first of its kind in which pontocaine was the drug used. She suggested the possibility that underlying neurological disease might have caused such a response, as there were cases on record where this had happened with other spinal anesthetics. The exchange illustrates the clinical problems encountered by anesthesiologists in the inter-war years, as well as their efforts to build up the knowledge base in their new specialty.

Original Repository:

Mount Holyoke College. Archives and Special Collections. Virginia Apgar Papers [MS 0504]

Location:

Box: 5. Folder: 3

Rights:

Reproduced with permission of Peter A. Apgar.

Genre:

Letters (correspondence)

Subject:

Anesthesiology

Format:

Text

Extent:

1 pages

Relation:

Letter from F. W. Clement to Virginia Apgar, 1938

Language:

English

Legacy Source Citation:

Original Repository. Mount Holyoke College. Archives and Special Collections. Virginia Apgar Papers [MS 0504]. 12223

Legacy ID:

CPBBFC

NLM ID:

101584647X65

Profiles Collection:

The Virginia Apgar Papers

Shareable Link:

https://profiles.nlm.nih.gov/101584647X65

Story Section:

Establishing a New Specialty, 1938-1949