title: What's past is prologue.
abstract: Alfred Blalock had a remarkable career as a clinical surgeon, laboratory investigator, and a teacher of medical students and residents. This article examines certain potential critical influences on his career, including Drs William Halsted and Barney Brooks, and Dr Blalock's early years as a resident and subsequently a faculty member at Vanderbilt. It is intended as a focused review, utilizing original sources as possible.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiac and Thoracic Surgery, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, Tennessee, USA. walter.merrill@surgery.mc.vanderbilt.edu
authors.forename: W H
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Merrill
mesh_terms: D006348:Cardiac Surgical Procedures / Q000266:history; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D014481:United States