A doctor drove a catheter through his arm and chest all the way to his heart.In truth, such preparations simply ensured that Ditzen would be able to neither see nor prevent Forssmann’s actions. Once out of sight from Ditzen’s view, Forssmann began to anaesthetise the pit of his own left elbow with Novocain.
…
Just then, adding to the absurdity of the scene, Forssmann’s colleague, an internalist named Peter Romeis, burst into the X-ray room and shouted: ‘You idiot, what the hell are you doing?’ He then tried to yank the catheter from Forssmann’s arm, fearing that Forssmann would gravely injure himself if he proceeded with the experiment. Forssmann was able to fend off Romeis with ‘a few kicks on the shin’.
Also weird: Hospitals had siestas.