The following presents the proceedings of the Einthoven meeting in Leiden, 1-2 November 1979. This meeting aimed at reviewing the historical develop ment of a few selected cardiological topics as a continuous process. Essentially this means reviewing three phases: the early history, the recent past, and the present with an outlook to the future. Mainly because of the chosen fields - clearly our choice of heart catheterization, angiocardiography, and cardiac surgery was not accidental- the emphasis was on recent history, of which its pioneers and their contemporaries can still testify. The opportunity for the older generation to meet again, and for the younger to hear pioneers tell about their work and to listen to experts recreating the past as the forerunner of the present, was a unique and stimulating occasion enjoyed by old and young alike. With great regret it was announced that Dr. Werner Forssmann, who had promised to attend the meeting and was looking forward to it, had died unexpectedly a few months ago. Instead of his personal contribution to the history of the pioneering age, a short tribute to his memory was paid by Dr. Loogen, professor of cardiology in Dusseldorf, and by Sir John McMichael, who showed part of an old movie on heart catheterization, in which Dr. Forssmann explained his part in this development. In his welcoming address, Dr.