STUDIES OF CONGENITAL HEART DISEASE. I. TECHNIQUE OF VENOUS CATHETERIZATION AS A DIAGNOSTIC PROCEDURE 1

Abstract
The venous catheter technique of Cournand and Ranges (1941) has been applied to the diagnosis and study of the hemodynamics of congenital heart disease. O2 consumption is measured and pressures and blood samples (for O2 content and saturation) are obtained from various parts of the pulmonary artery, right ventricle, right auricle, and from the superior vena cava and femoral artery. Details of this technique are described, and the Fick principle for the calculation of blood flow in the presence of congenital shunts is discussed.