Healing Hands In 1941, Dr. Helen Taussig made a discovery that would change the field of medical science. She may not have known it at the time, but that discovery would also usher in a new specialty within medicine, now known as pediatric cardiology (the study of heart defects in babies and children). As one of the first female physicians in the United States, Dr. Taussig was already a pioneer in medicine, having overcome childhood dyslexia to pursue an education at Harvard University, Boston University, and the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. While studying for her medical degree, Dr. Taussig suffered an illness that left her deaf just as she was embarking on her new career as a doctor. She learned to lip-read and use hearing aids to help her communicate with patients, but it was the use of her hands that ultimately offered the best healing. Because she couldn't use a stethoscope to listen to babies' heartbeats, Dr. Taussig rested her hands on babies' chests to feel their heartbeats, making her hands, in effect, another pair of ears. It was this unique practice that led Dr. Taussig to devise a solution to a problem that had been afflicting infants for some time: anoxemia, or "blue baby" syndrome, which prevents the heart from receiving enough oxygen. By using fluoroscopy, which was a new X-ray technology at the time, Dr. Taussig realized that in babies with anoxemia, the wall separating chambers within the heart was leaking, and an artery connecting the heart to the lungs was underdeveloped, both of which contributed to the lack of oxygen. In 1944, three years after she first came up with a new surgical procedure to help babies with anoxemia, Dr. Taussig and her colleague, Dr. Alfred Blalock, performed the first life-saving operation on a child. The surgery, now known as the Blalock-Taussig operation, was a , Begin underlined word, milestone, End underlined word, in the burgeoning specialty of pediatric cardiology. For her contributions to the field of medical science, Dr. Taussig has received numerous awards and honors, including the Medal of Freedom from President Lyndon Johnson in 1964. Which of the following generalizations can be made based on the selection? A Anoxemia was a common problem in infants at the time. B Doctors were often hesitant to use new technology like fluoroscopy. C Equality is imperative to making significant scientific advancements for all. D New medical procedures require extensive testing before they can be implemented.