Many papers on hypovolaemia refer to ‘The Preventive Treatment of Wound Shock’ (Cannon WB, Fraser J, Cowell E. 1918. The preventive treatment of wound shock. JAMA 70: 618- 21). It is a practical paper dealing with the sequelae of blood loss, and how to minimize their impact in injured soldiers. Despite constant reference to this work, Cannon is not a name that is often heard in British medical circles, and many of his achievements are not well remembered. He was, however, a key researcher into many aspects of the physiology upon which our medical practice depends today. This brief paper aims to introduce this important gure to a wider circle.
