The Seldinger technique: 50 years on

Seldinger's work showed that all arteries in the body could be reached from the femoral route, and he used the parathyroid and renal arteries as examples. Subclavian arteriography was done, with one exposure showing a mediastinal adenoma that an earlier operative exploration had not identified. Surprisingly, Seldinger's chief at the Department of Radiology thought that his ingenious invention and its obvious potential were not enough to form the basis of a thesis. Further investigation and a series of publications followed, all examining the use of the technique within angiography. Seldinger eventually submitted his thesis on percutaneous cholangiography 13 years later. The table provides an overview of the range of applications and medical specialties that benefit from the Seldinger technique, which are usually done by interventional radiologists and cardiologists.