Vivien Thomas
Vivien Thomas
Vivien Thomas (pronounced: /ˈvɪviən ˈtɒməs/) was an African-American surgical technician who developed the procedures used to treat blue baby syndrome in the 1940s.
Etymology
The name Vivien is of Latin origin and means "alive". The surname Thomas is of Greek origin and means "twin".
Early Life
Vivien Thomas was born in New Iberia, Louisiana. He attended Pearl High School in Nashville and was a premedical student at Tennessee State University.
Career
Thomas's career began at Vanderbilt University where he worked as a lab assistant for Dr. Alfred Blalock. Despite facing racial discrimination, Thomas excelled in his role and was instrumental in developing a surgical technique to treat Tetralogy of Fallot, a congenital heart defect that results in low oxygenation of the blood. This condition is also known as "blue baby syndrome".
Thomas's work was groundbreaking and paved the way for future advancements in cardiac surgery. Despite his significant contributions, Thomas was not initially recognized for his work due to racial discrimination. It was not until many years later that he was formally acknowledged and awarded an honorary doctorate by Johns Hopkins University.
Related Terms
- Blue baby syndrome
- Tetralogy of Fallot
- Vanderbilt University
- Alfred Blalock
- Johns Hopkins University
External links
- Medical encyclopedia article on Vivien Thomas
- Wikipedia's article - Vivien Thomas
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