Developing a specialty: J.S. Lundy's three major contributions to anesthesiology

John S. Lundy was able to accomplish three major goals during the early years of his stewardship of the section on anesthesia of the Mayo Clinic. In 1925, Lundy established the first anatomy lab at the Mayo Clinic. He believed that the lab would serve as a useful tool for teaching residents as well as research into regional anesthetic techniques. Second, Lundy desired to advance the science of anesthesiology. Lundy developed the concept of balanced anesthesia, pioneered the introduction of barbiturates to the practice of anesthesia, developed anesthesia section services for the use of ventilators, ventilator vests, oxygen tents, and nasal oxygen supplementation. Lastly, in 1935, he established the nation's first blood bank. Lundy and Ralph Tovell had the opportunity to do pioneering work in transfusion medicine, which led to an improvement in the quality of service, and patient safety. These three major accomplishments provided Lundy with abundant scientific material to present to the American Medical Association (AMA) in Chicago. These trips to Chicago allowed him to gain the ear of Olin West, Morris Fishbien, and James E. Pallin. Lundy was able to successfully lobby in 1939 for the creation of a section of anesthesia within the AMA. In 1940, Lundy's dream came true with the recognition of anesthesia as a specialty by the AMA.