Historical Features of Cholecystography

Although we may not be fully aware that each discovery in science is dependent upon another of equal importance, we realize this fact when we undertake a study of the development of any significant idea. Since this is true, we often wonder why the author of one discovery does not capitalize on it and proceed with the development of the other which appears to follow so obviously. It is amazing how seldom this progression is made by one man or group of men. The concept of cholecystography was developed by Evarts Graham and was based upon two previous discoveries. One of these was the demonstration by Abel and Rowntree (1), in 1910 that phenoltetrachlorphthalein was excreted almost entirely in the bile. The other was the demonstration by Rous and McMaster (2), in 1921, that the normal gallbladder was able to concentrate bile eight to ten times by absorbing water (Fig. 1). Abel and Rowntree were searching for a cathartic which could be given by hypodermic injection, hoping also for one which had a prolonged a...