ECG名称的由来
当在医学院生理学课堂第一次接触心电图(Electrocardiography,ECG),我就对图上那些字母的名称来历非常好奇,料想它们都应该是某个词汇的首字母。这样的想法萦绕了一年多,但是一直没有想通或查到是什么词汇的首字母。后来学习诊断学的时候,辅助检查里有一个章节专门讲解心电图,面对那些起起伏伏的波形,之前的好奇再次涌了上来。查询讨论无果后,问了一位心外科的博士学长,他发给我一篇论文,读了第一段之后发现——
Fig. 1 The components of the ECG complex
其实心电图波形并不是一开始就用PQRSTU表示的,以前用过ABCD,为什么要改呢?这篇文章介绍了这个有意思的过程——
The first human ECG, recorded by Waller in 1887 with Lippmann’s capillary electrometer, revealed only 2 deflections. Being a physiologist, Waller labeled the waves as one would expect a physiologist to do: he used letters that suggested the anatomic parts of the heart that produced them. Accordingly, he labeled the 2 waves V1 and V2 to indicate ventricular events.
生理学家Waller生于1856年,1887年记录了人类第一张心电图,这张原始心电图还只有两个波,认为他们来源于心室(Ventricle)活动,Waller把这两个波标记为V1和V2。同年,Waller在英国皇家学会的玛丽医院演示了记录心电图的过程。
Einthoven, using a Lippmann capillary electrometer, also obtained tracings with 2 waves made by the ventricles and labeled them A and B. When Einthoven later recorded atrial excitation with an improved Lippmann electrometer, Waller labeled the newly discovered deflection with an A to indicate it was produced by the atria.
Einthoven生