Between Cardiology and Urology: Werner Forssmann’s Double Career

Werner Forssmann (1904–1979) was awarded the Nobel Prize for his self-experiments in catheterization of the heart and thus entered the annals of medicine. But he had turned to urology long before he received the Nobel Prize. Who was this person associated with both cardiology and urology? It is precisely this question that the present article explores with the help of both new and reevaluated primary sources. In 1999 Truss et al. already published an article in the World Journal of Urology about the many and varied facets of Forssmann’s life and work. Our article ties in with that of Truss et al. and expands the body of knowledge concerning Forssmann and his work. Werner Forssmann as one of the 2 urologists besides Charles B. Huggins who have ever won the Nobel Prize deserves a complete and comprehensive analysis of his life and his life’s work. Within ­German Urology, the culture of remembrance on Werner Forssmann is an important component and with every newly revealed and interpreted source we get to know better who this urologist was and what role he played in the scientific community.