February 5 – On This Day in Medical History

Medical milestones, landmark publications, and notable births and deaths associated with February 5.

Events

1901 – Fernand Léon Cathelin (1873-1960) first applied caudal (sacral) access to the epidural space in hospital practice, injecting dilute cocaine for epidural analgesia/anaesthesia in operations including inguinal hernia repair.

---

Births

1837 – Leopold Schrötter Ritter von Kristelli (1837-1908), Austrian physician; described Paget-Schroetter Syndrome (1884)

1866– Sir Arthur Keith (1866-1955), Scottish anatomist; described Node of Keith-Flack (1907) [sino-atrial node]

1906 – John Haven “Jack” Emerson (1906-1997), American inventor and humanist; invented the Emerson Iron Lung (1931) and Emerson Post-Operative Suction Pump

---

Deaths

1963 – John Zahorsky Jr (1871-1963), Austro-Hungarian born American pediatrician; described Zahorsky syndrome [sixth disease, roseola infantum] (1910)

---

Further reading

• Cathelin F. Une nouvelle voie d’injection rachidienne. Méthode des injections épidurales par le procédé du canal sacré. Applications a l’homme. Comptes rendus des séances de la Société de biologie et de ses filiales 1901; 53: 452–453