Short History of Vascular Injections, with Special Reference to the Heart Vessels

Vascular injections of colored mixtures were probably not performed before the seventeenth century. They are intended to allow a more detailed description of arteries, veins and lymph vessels, but also to produce specimens to be exhibited in anatomical and natural sciences museums, usually after corrosion. This paper gives a summary of the development of vascular injection procedures and mixtures in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, with special reference to the injection of the heart vessels (coronary arteries, venae cordis minimae, and lymphatics).