Sewell Heart Pump
date: label: date made
content: ca 1950
label: associated dates
content: 1959 01 06 / 1959 01 06
notes: label: Description
content: This heart pump was built by William H. Sewell (-1993) and William W. L. Glenn (1914-2003), and was intended for physiological experiments. The pump was made from an Erector© Set, glass cylinders, cannula and rubber tubing. All that remains today is the erector set.
label: Description
content: Sewell built the pneumatically powered pump for his medical thesis at Yale University. He graduated in 1950. The object of the pump was to by-pass the right side of a dog's heart, and to look for any abnormalities the pump may have caused to the heart or the blood.
label: Description
content: A cannula was inserted into the animal’s jugular vein and maneuvered into the right auricle and finally into the vena cava. Compressed air was used to pump blood through the dog's system. The first experiment took place in June 1949. The artificial heart worked and the dog made a complete recovery.
label: Description
content: The total cost of the pump came to $24.80. The most expensive part at $9.00 was the erector set and motor.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United States: Connecticut, New Haven
topic: label: Subject
content: Medicine
label: Subject
content: Invention
label: Subject
content: Cardiology
label: Subject
content: Science
setName: label: See more items in
content: Medicine and Science: Medicine
label: See more items in
content: Health & Medicine
label: See more items in
content: Artificial Hearts
publisher: label: Related Publication
content: Sewell, William H., Jr., M.D., and William W.L. Glenn, M.D.. Experimental Cardiac Surgery
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Mrs. William H. Sewell
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: MG.M-08015
label: accession number
content: 223384
label: catalog number
content: M-08015
objectType: label: Object Name
content: heart pump
label: Object Name
content: heart, artificial
label: Object Name
content: pump
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: steel (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: glass (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: rubber (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: silicone (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 3 3/4 in x 12 in x 14 1/4 in; 9.525 cm x 30.48 cm x 36.195 cm
label: Measurements
content: overall: 9.5 cm x 24 cm x 35 cm; 3 3/4 in x 9 7/16 in x 13 25/32 in