The woeful state of knowledge of congenital heart disease at the beginning of the 20th century can be appreciated by examining two major textbooks. Osler’s The Principles and Practice of Medicine devotes 4 pages to this subject, which is described as of only limited clinical interest, as in a large proportion of the cases the anomaly is not compatible with life, and in others nothing can be done to remedy the defect or even to relieve the symptoms...