George Ralph Mines
| George Ralph Mines | |
|---|---|
| Born |
May 13, 1886 Bath, Great Britain |
| Died |
November 7, 1914 Montreal, Canada |
| Nationality | English |
| Fields | Cardiac electrophysiology |
| Institutions | McGill University |
George Ralph Mines was a pioneering English cardiac electrophysiologist. He made two important contributions to cardiac electrophysiology. [1] First, he proposed that an action potential wave front could propagate in a circle, repeatedly activating the tissue. [2] Second, he discovered the vulnerable period of the heart: the time during the cardiac cycle when a single stimulus can induce ventricular fibrillation. [3]
On November 7, 1914, Mines was found unconscious in his laboratory, and died later that day. His death may have been caused by self-experimentation using electrical stimuli. [4]
A special issue of the Journal of Physiology was published in September 2013 in honor of the 100th anniversary of Mines' most notable work and his death.
References
- ↑ DeSilva RA (1997). "George Ralph Mines, Ventricular Fibrillation and the Discovery of the Vulnerable Period.". Journal of the American College of Cardiology 29: 1397–1402. doi:10.1016/s0735-1097(97)00067-3.
- ↑ Mines GR (1913). "On dynamic equilibrium in the heart.". Journal of Physiology 46: 349–383.
- ↑ Mines GR (1914). "On circulating excitations in heart muscle and their possible relation to tachycardia and fibrillation.". Transactions of the Royal Society of Canada 8: 43–52.
- ↑ Aciernom LJ, Worrell LT (2001). "George Ralph Mines: Victim of Self-Experimentation?". Clinical Cardiology 24: 571–572. doi:10.1002/clc.4960240810.