Cavo-pulmonary shunt: from the first experiments to clinical practice.

The cavo-pulmonary anastomosis is often referred to as Glenn shunt today. The concept of cavo-pulmonary shunting, however, was developed independently by many surgeons. While the work of some of them is widely recognized, the pioneering contributions of many others fall into oblivion. Nonetheless, each of them contributed something original and precious to the total sum of our modern knowledge. It seems timely, as we enter the new millennium, to give due credit to those individuals who put their minds and efforts into helping sick children. These people deserve recognition.