THE ANTICOAGULANT TIMELINE
The evolution of anticoagulant prophylaxis
The search for effective anticoagulation dates back to ancient times. Only during the previous century has medical conjecture been tested and proven through clinical practice.
4th Century BC
Hippocrates proposes an oral "blood thinner"7
10th Century AD
Medicinal leeches replace venisection as a method of anticoagulation19
13th Century
An illustrated manuscript depicts what is believed to be the first documented
case of VTE7
1676
Richard Wiseman provides the first detailed description of a VTE following childbirth7
1860
Rudolph Virchow presents his pathologic observations on a triad of factors in abnormal clot formation7
1866
Spencer Wells recognizes a link between VTE and surgery7
1884
The anticoagulant compound hirudin was identified in the saliva of European medicinal leeches (the extract was proven to be too toxic for clinical use)7
1916—First Anticoagulant
Jay McClean discovers heparin as the first clinically important anticoagulant7
1935
Purified form of heparin developed7
1939-First Oral Anticoagulant
Carl Link and colleagues isolate, identify, and discover dicoumarol7
1941
The Mayo Clinic publishes the first clinical report on the oral anticoagulant dicoumarol7
1948
The name of the coumarin derivative No. 42 is coined as warfarin19
1951
Warfarin sodium is made available for clinical use19
1980s—1990s
Low-molecular-weight heparin is developed and made available for clinical use7
21st Century
Clinicians are currently searching for newer anticoagulant targets that may be administered orally, require less routine monitoring, and are highly effective in reducing the risk of VTE, with a low rate of bleeding events and a higher rate of patient acceptance.18
