Forssmann, Werner, FAWRS mahn, VEHR nuhr (1904-1979), a German surgeon and urologist, shared the 1956 Nobel Prize for medicine for his work on cardiac catheterization. This involves the insertion of a small tube into a vein through which it reaches the heart. In 1929, he pioneered this technique by performing the operation on himself. He inserted a tube into a vein in his arm and pushed until the tube reached his heart. Catheterization is used to measure blood pressure in the heart, to draw off blood samples, and to decide what part of the heart is defective and whether or not to operate. Forssmann was born in Berlin.