Carl J. Wiggers (May 28, 1883 – April 28, 1963) was a doctor and medical researcher famous for his heart and blood-pressure research. He developed the

Wiggers diagram A Wiggers diagram, named after its developer, Carl Wiggers, is a unique diagram that has been used in teaching cardiac physiology for more than a century. In the Wiggers diagram, the X-axis is used to plot time subdivided into the cardiac phases ...

, which is commonly used in teaching of cardiovascular research. Wiggers was born in Davenport, Iowa, to George and Margret Kuendal Wiggers, graduated from the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

with an M.D. in 1906, and attended the Institute of Physiology at the

University of Munich The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich or LMU; german: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München) is a public research university in Munich, Germany. It is Germany's sixth-oldest university in continuous operatio ...

. He was an instructor of physiology at the University of Michigan (1906–1911), and assistant professor at

Cornell University Medical School The Joan & Sanford I. Weill Medical College of Cornell University is Cornell University's biomedical research unit and medical school located in Upper East Side, Manhattan, New York City, New York. Weill Cornell Medicine is affiliated with NewY ...

(1911–1918). From 1918 to 1953, he was professor and chairman of the Dept. of Physiology at Western Reserve University Medical School that became known as

Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine Case Western Reserve School of Medicine (CWRU SOM, CaseMed) is the medical school of Case Western Reserve University, a private research university in Cleveland, Ohio. It is the largest biomedical research center in Ohio. History On November ...

. Wiggers achieved world recognition for developing a new method of registering heart and blood pressure, finding the effects of low oxygen pressure on circulation, discovering the effects of valve defects on the heart, studying the effects of shock, and his pioneering efforts along with Dr. Claude Beck and others in techniques of resuscitation from death in the operating room. After retiring as professor emeritus in 1953, Wiggers joined the Frank Bunts Institute of the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, taking part in postgraduate training for student doctors and in medical and scientific seminars. Wiggers established and was the first editor of the medical journal '' Circulation Research'' and authored seven books and over 300 articles. In 1952 he received the Gold Heart Award from the American Heart Association. In 1951 he was elected to the National Academy of Sciences. In 1954 he received the Modern Medicine Award, and in 1955 the Albert Lasker Award for distinguished research in cardiovascular research. Wiggers married Minnie E. Berry in 1907 and had two sons, Harold and Raymond.

External links

APS biography of Carl J. Wiggers"Carl John Wiggers 1883-1963 A Biographical Memoir" by Eugene M. Landis, National Academy of Sciences (PDF, 37 pages)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wiggers, Carl J. 1883 births 1963 deaths Recipients of the Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research University of Michigan Medical School alumni Cornell University faculty Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Cleveland Clinic people Circulation Research editors