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The Dr. W.G. Bigelow fonds consists of 21 series of textual records documenting the life and work of the pioneering Canadian heart surgeon, medical researcher, and co-developer of the cardiac pacemaker, Dr. Wilfred G. Bigelow:

0094-1 Appointment books
0094-2 Medical textbooks
0094-3 Case histories
0094-4 Medical conference programs
0094-5 Patient/surgery lists
0094-6 General patient files
0094-7 Correspondence
0094-8 Experimental and clinical research files
0094-9 Lectures and speeches
0094-10 Diagnoses and procedures
0094-11 Medical research grants-in-aid
0094-12 Professional Societies, Associations and Committees
0094-13 Toronto General Hospital files
0094-14 Medical insurance accounts
0094-15 University of Toronto files
0094-16 Medical journal publications
0094-17 Meetings
0094-18 Japanese publications on hypothermia research
0094-19 Travel files
0094-20 Medical office expenses
0094-21 Income tax returns

Collectively, the materials comprising this fonds illustrate virtually every aspect of Dr. Bigelow's personal and professional life as a surgeon and hospital division head, academic instructor and researcher, clinical investigator, author, lecturer, medical conference presenter and panellist, and member of numerous medical societies and medical/scientific committees.

In particular the fonds provides information about Dr. Bigelow's contributions to the advancement of cardiac surgery and the treatment of heart disease, especially his central accomplishments in contributing to the innovation and development of the surgical use of hypothermia in open-heart surgery and the electrical artificial cardiac pacemaker.

This series consists of Dr. Bigelow's personal appointment diaries for the years 1952-1977. Two appointment books exist for each of the years 1966 and 1967: these books contain parallel but not identical information - it is necessary to consult both books for a comprehensive account of Dr. Bigelow's activities during these years. The series lacks an appointment book for 1976.

The appointment books document Dr. Bigelow's personal and professional activities, including patient consultations; surgeries performed; meetings with medical colleagues; surgical rounds; committee and professional association meetings attended; medical conferences attended; lectures and speeches delivered; dates of patients' admission to hospital and surgery, often with notes attached detailing their condition, treatment, prognosis etc.; and personal social and travel schedules.

Series consists principally of operation records and discharge summaries for a selection of Dr. Bigelow's surgical cases, organized by medical problem/ surgical procedure, and used as an aid for diagnosis and the determination of appropriate surgical procedures for use with new patients. These files were also used for research purposes in preparing case study reports and statistical analyses of specific surgeries. Some of the files are subdivided by facets of the medical problem/ surgical procedure exemplified: for example, File 0094-10-0-10 subdivides records exemplifying patent ductus arteriosus surgery into sections devoted to "division" and "ligation".

Series consists of materials relating to the application for and expenditure of cardiovascular research grants-in-aid presented to and/or funded by various public and private agencies and foundations. The files comprising this series are arranged by sponsoring agency and typically include correspondence, research proposals, formal applications for funding, budget estimates and statements of expenditure, and research progress reports.

Included are funding applications prepared and presented and funded research conducted, in whole or in part, by Dr. Bigelow (WGB); sponsored by Dr. Bigelow; or prepared, presented, and conducted by Dr. Bigelow's research associates at the Toronto General Hospital and the Banting Research Institute Cardiovascular Laboratories. Also included are materials relating to the use of special contingency funds dedicated to cardiovascular research and administered by Dr. Bigelow in his capacities as Professor, Department of Surgery, University of Toronto and Head, Division of Cardiovascular Surgery, Toronto General Hospital (see Files 0094-11-0-56 to 0094-11-0-62).

The files comprising this series have been divided into five groups, consisting respectively of files pertaining to research funded by or applications for grants-in-aid presented to the Ontario Heart Foundation (Group A: Files 0094-11-0-1 to 0094-11-0-30), the Medical Research Council of the National Research Council of Canada (Group B: Files 0094-11-0-31 to 0094-11-0-43), the Department of National Health and Welfare (Canada) (Group C: Files 0094-11-0-44 to 0094-11-0-45), the Ontario Department of Health (Group D: Files 0094-11-0-46 to 0094-11-0-47), and various miscellaneous funding bodies (Group E: Files 0094-11-0-48 to 0094-11-0-65).

The files comprising this series document Dr. Bigelow's involvement with various professional medical associations, societies and committees. The files typically include correspondence; agendas, programmes and minutes of meetings; reports, and abstracts of papers presented at meetings; financial statements; constitutions/by-laws; and lists of members and prospective members, and applications for membership. The files are arranged by name of organization and, where necessary, by organizational subdivisions such as committees, or type of material, such as correspondence. Dr. Bigelow was an active member of most, but not all of these organizations, as outlined in the following list (dates are truncated and indicate the year in which WGB was elected or appointed to membership or to a particular committee or board):

• American Association for Thoracic Surgery Associate Member 61; Active Member 62; Membership Committee 63; Evarts A. Graham Travelling Fellowship Committee 67 (Chair 69); Council 70; President 74
• American College of Surgeons Member 55
• American Heart Association Program Committee, Council on Cardiovascular Surgery; Executive Committee, Council on Cardiovascular Surgery
• American Surgical Association Member 53; Membership Committee 63
• Canada. Department of National Defence. Defence Research Board Member 67-72
• Canada. Department of National Health and Welfare. Public Health Research Advisory Committee. Subcommittee on Cardiology Member 62-65
• Canadian Association of Clinical Surgeons Member 51
• Canadian Federation of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgeons Charter Member and First President 67
• Canadian Cardiovascular Society Vice-President 69; Chairman, Nomenclature Committee 71; President 70-72; Programme Chairman for 1972 Annual Meeting; Chairman, Nominating Committee 74
• Canadian Heart Association Charter Member 48
• Canadian Heart Foundation Board of Directors 70
• Canadian Medical Protective Association Member 56
• Canadian Society for Clinical Investigation Honourary Member 67
• Cardiovascular Surgeons' Club Charter Member 53
• Central Surgical Association Member 50
• International Cardiovascular Society Vice-President 56, 71
• James IV Association of Surgeons, Inc. Member 59; Board of Directors 67
• Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery (American Association for Thoracic Surgery) Editorial Board 62
• Medico-Legal Society of Toronto Council 52; President 68
• National Research Council of Canada. Medical Research Council. Surgical Research Assessment Group Member 67-68
• Nu Sigma Nu Fraternity Board of Directors 53
• Ontario. Department of Health. Ontario Council of Health. Subcommittee on Highly Specialized Services (Hilliard Committee) Member 69
• Ontario Heart Foundation Medical Members Committee 57-59, 76-77
• Ontario Medical Association Honourary Member 67
• Pan-Pacific Surgical Association Member 69
• Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada Fellow 47
• Society for Vascular Surgery Member 49; President 68-69
• Society of Thoracic Surgeons Honourary Member 93
• Society of Thoracic Surgeons of Great Britain and Ireland Honourary Member 61
• Society of University Surgeons Member 53

The files comprising this series document Dr. Bigelow's professional activities as a member of the medical staff of the Toronto General Hospital, including his service on various institutional committees, particularly within the Department of Surgery and the Division of Cardiovascular Surgery. The materials comprising the series include correspondence, notices and minutes of meetings, surgical statistics, and committee reports. File 0094-13-0-23 includes a brief memorandum (1971?) by WGB on the history of the Cardiovascular Service at TGH. File 0094-13-0-24 includes documents on the planning and establishment of the Cardiovascular Investigative Unit at TGH. File 0094-13-0-26 includes in-training evaluations of surgical residents. File 0094-13-0-28 includes protocols for diagnosis and surgical treatment of various cardiovascular conditions.

The materials comprising this series consist of remittance advices and account statements issued by various medical insurance agencies pursuant to medical services provided by Dr. Bigelow, and correspondence between these agencies and Dr. Bigelow's office.

The files comprising this series document Dr. Bigelow's professional academic activities as a member of the Faculty of Medicine and Department of Surgery at the University of Toronto, including his service on various institutional committees. The materials comprising the series include lecture schedules, academic curricula, correspondence, notices and minutes of meetings, and committee reports. File 0094-15-0-29 includes a list of medical staff titles and correspondence from other centres describing their academic conventions. File 0094-15-0-30 includes the terms of reference for the UofT Department of Surgery’s Personnel Committee.

This series consists of reprints, and in some case photocopies, of articles published by Dr. Bigelow, alone and in collaboration with colleagues, in various medical journals.

This series consists of materials (predominantly correspondence and conference/symposia programs) documenting Dr. Bigelow's invitation to participate in (as a lecturer, panellist, moderator or presenter) and attendance/ non-attendance at various medical-scientific meetings, conferences, symposia, and post-graduate medical courses, as well as his invitation to contribute to various publications.

The materials comprising this series are predominantly, but not exclusively related to meetings sponsored or invitations issued by organizations of which Dr. Bigelow was not a member at the time the invitation to attend, present, lecture, or publish was received.

Series consists of reprint journal articles on hypothermia by Japanese researchers. The articles were collected and received by Dr. Bigelow.

This series consists of correspondence, itineraries, expense accounts, receipts etc. relating to Dr. Bigelow's professional and personal travel activities. Most of the materials in this series document Dr. Bigelow's travel to participate in various professional medical/scientific meetings. Files 0094-19-0-3 to 0094-19-0-5 consists of materials documenting Dr. Bigelow's trip to participate in the 27th All-Union Congress of Surgeons of the U.S.S.R. in Moscow, May 23-28 1960, as well as preliminary correspondence and post-Congress correspondence with Soviet/Russian medical colleagues and associates. File 0094-19-0-8b includes an International Certificates of Vaccination booklet issued to Dr. Bigelow by the Department of National Health and Welfare (Canada) which includes records of vaccinations received by Dr. Bigelow between 1959 and 1964.

This series consists of four medical textbooks annotated by Dr. Bigelow in the course of his research, surgical, teaching and reviewing activities.

File 0094-2-0-4 contains, affixed to the inside front cover, a presentation card from the author addressed to Dr. Bigelow. Dr. Bigelow has annotated the card: "1994 - I was asked to write the book review by Anne [?] Sabaston - Annals Surg."

This series consists of one file which includes correspondence, suppliers' invoices and receipts, equipment maintenance agreements, and tax assessments documenting the equipment and operation of Dr. Bigelow's medical office.

This series consists of 1 file of Dr. Bigelow's personal income tax returns for the taxation years 1945-1952.

This series consists of patient case files illustrating various surgical problems and techniques, medical conditions and treatments. The materials in this series have been arranged into 20 sub-series, each dedicated to a specific medical or surgical subject:

0094-3-1 Case Histories - Ventriculomytomy
0094-3-2 Case Histories - Aorto-Coronary Bypass
0094-3-3 Case Histories - Hypothermia
0094-3-4 Case Histories - Auricular/Atrial Septal Defect
0094-3-5 Case Histories - Mitral Valvoplasty
0094-3-6 Case Histories - Aortic Valves Homograft
0094-3-7 Case Histories - Aortic Bicuspidization
0094-3-8 Case Histories - Coarctation of Aorta
0094-3-9 Case Histories - Mitral Annuloplasty
0094-3-10 Case Histories - Mitral Commissurotomy
0094-3-11 Case Histories - Tricuspid Annuloplasty
0094-3-12 Case Histories - Pacemaker Insertion
0094-3-13 Case Histories - Pericardiectomy
0094-3-14 Case Histories - Aorto-Iliac Arterial Graft
0094-3-15 Case Histories - Atrial Myxoma
0094-3-16 Case Histories - Sinus of Valsalva
0094-3-17 Case Histories - Aortic Valvoplasty
0094-3-18 Case Histories - Abdominal (Aortic) Aneurysm
0094-3-19 Case Histories - Combined Aorto-Coronary Bypass/Internal Mammary Artery Implant
0094-3-20 Case Histories - Internal Mammary Artery Implant

Case history files typically contain standard medical documents including operation records, consultation records, autopsy reports, clinical histories, discharge summary reports, cardiovascular rounds reports, pathology reports, radiology reports, heart catheterization reports, angiograms, and electrocardiograms. The files also contain correspondence between Dr. Bigelow and medical colleagues and/or patients, and documents relating to patients' medical insurance and bills for service.

The materials in this series document developments in the medical and surgical treatment of specific cardiovascular defects and provide evidence of Dr. Bigelow's contributions to the innovation and development of such treatments.

Although most of the surgical procedures documented in this series were first performed predominantly on public ward patients, the files comprising this series are nearly exclusively those of Dr. Bigelow's private patients, whose medical records he was responsible for maintaining. Case files for public ward patients were maintained by the Toronto General Hospital's Department of Medical Records, and files compiled prior to 1980 have largely been destroyed.

This sub-series consists of patient case files illustrating ventriculomyotomies performed by Dr. Bigelow. Files pertaining to Dr. Bigelow's public patients are arranged alphabetically by patient surname. The remaining files are ordered by patient case number, which can be found on the physical records. Patient case numbers have been omitted from file titles to ensure compliance with Ontario’s Personal Health Information Protection Act, 2004 (PHIPA), but the original order has been retained.

This sub-series consists of patient case files illustrating mitral commissurotomy surgeries performed by Dr. Bigelow. The files are ordered by patient case number, which can be found on the physical records. Patient case numbers have been omitted from file titles to ensure compliance with Ontario’s Personal Health Information Protection Act, 2004 (PHIPA), but the original order has been retained.

This sub-series consists of patient case files illustrating tricuspid annuloplasty surgeries performed by Dr. Bigelow. The files are ordered by patient case number, which can be found on the physical records. Patient case numbers have been omitted from file titles to ensure compliance with Ontario’s Personal Health Information Protection Act, 2004 (PHIPA), but the original order has been retained.

This sub-series consists of patient case files illustrating pacemaker insertion surgeries performed by Dr. Bigelow. The files are ordered by patient case number, which can be found on the physical records. Patient case numbers have been omitted from file titles to ensure compliance with Ontario’s Personal Health Information Protection Act, 2004 (PHIPA), but the original order has been retained.