Authors:
- Dr Phoebe d’Orton-Jones, CT3 Anaesthesia, Royal Liverpool Hospital
- Dr Robin Wingate, Consultant Anaesthetist, Royal Liverpool Hospital
An amphibious heart with two atria, one ventricle, and no coronary vasculature bears little resemblance to human physiology. Yet a stroke of serendipity in 19th century London led to a leap in our understanding of cardiac physiology – and in turn to the creation of many an anaesthetist’s favourite fluid.
In the 1880s Dr Sydney Ringer, a physician, was juggling early-morning ward rounds at UCL, seeing patients in Cavendish Place and completing his laboratory work. He was undertaking a series of experiments to investigate factors affecting cardiac contractility, and in particular, Ringer was interested in the effects of altering the components of the perfusing fluid. Using excised frog hearts perfused with differing salt solutions, he set about measuring ventricular volume changes via Roy's tonometer (a novel apparatus comprising a lever system and oil).