THE SUBJECT of foreign bodies in the air and food passages is always a source of human and dramatic interest as well as of clinical interest. However, appreciation of the importance of foreign bodies in the air passages was not particularly noted until the early part of the nineteenth century.
In a review of the history of this subject, Clerf1 mentions significant individual contributions in the development of the subject as it is known today. For a more detailed description, it is well to refer to that article as well as to the original articles. A very brief, incomplete resume and a simple table (Table I) to illustrate the history are added here.
In about 460 B.C., Hippocrates advocated placing a tube in the larynx and trachea to prevent asphyxiation, and, although he mentioned some details in the examination of the chest, the first general acceptance of a method