Dr. Vivien Thomas (1910-1985) was an African-American surgical technician and pioneering figure in medical history whose contributions to the field of heart surgery made an indelible impact.

a "code blue" at the Howard University Hospital emergency room is called a "Dr. Dan." In words that could later be said of Vivien Thomas, a colleague wrote, "His greatest pride was that directly ...

Taussig persuaded Dr. Alfred Blalock, a vascular surgeon, to try and relieve the obstruction. With Vivien Thomas, Blalock proved Taussig's hypothesis, then worked with her to develop a procedure ...