Health Sciences · Temerty Faculty of Medicine
A small (7.5 cm long) wooden case contains a glass vial. The vial, which contains 10 cc. of heparin, has a black rubber cap and yellow label with blue lettering.
The case has a removable sliding lid that is marked with handwriting on its upper surface.
Accession Number: 2026.med.59
Alternative Name:
Primary Materials: Wood, Glass, Cotton.
Writing on the box lid reads as follows: “Heparin [unclear, three letters, perhaps ]pat’]// 82-1// Obtained July [unclear]// From Toronto during Visit.”
Lettering on the vial label reads as follows: “SOLUTION// OF// HEPARIN// 10 CC.// 1000 units per cc.// Lot 82-1// CONNAUGHT LABORATORIES// UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO// Toronto 5, Canada”
Printed in a vertical orientation on the right side of the label: “Heparin, highly purified by// processes involving crystalli–// zation, dissolved in physiolog–// ical saline, and dispensed as a// sterile solution. Preservative// —Trikresol 0.3%.”
Written in black ink on the left side of the label: “July 1940”
Wooden box: Height = 3, Width = 7.5, Legth = 3.5.
Heparin is a blood anticoagulant. It increases the activity of antithrombin, a protein produced by the liver that regulates blood clotting. It is a biological medicine, meaning that it is derived from animal tissues.
The development of Heparin in the mid 1930s facilitated or improved a number of medical therapies. This included the prevention of blood clots during the use of cardiopulmonary bypass technology, which revolutionized cardiac surgery around the middle of the 20th century. Heparin is still widely used today.
This example was produced by Connaught labs in Toronto, which played a key role in developing heparin into a safe and effective clinical drug.
Condition: The vial is unused and undamaged.
Associated Instruments:
Connaught Laboratories, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON.
Date of Manufacture: 1940
Provenance:
Christine M. Ball and Peter J. Featherstone (2025) “The History of Heparin.” Anaesthesia and Intensive Care. 53,1: 3–5.
Christopher J. Rutty (1996) “Miracle Blood Lubricant: Connaught and the Story of Heparin, 1928-1937.” CONNTACT August 1996, Vol. 9, 4. (Archived 17 January 2026).
Jay McLean (1959). “The Discovery of Heparin.” Circulation. 19,1 (1959): 75–78.
Charles H. Best (1959). “Preparation of Heparin and Its Use in the First Clinical Cases.” Circulation. 19, 1: 79–86.
The anticoagulant properties of heparin were first identified by American surgeon Jay McLean (1890 – 1957) while he was working in the laboratory of physiologist William Henry Howell (1860–1945) while undertaking his medical studies at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. The discovery took place in 1916 when McLean was assigned to investigate coagulant compounds. Heparin was first isolated from the liver of dogs. McLean described part of this experience in a posthumously published account whose completion was interrupted by his death in 1957 (See McLean 1959).
Various efforts to refine heparin into a clinical drug were unsuccessful. Distributed by Hynson, Westeott and Dunning in Baltimore, heparin was used for research purposes until it was developed for clinical use by a group led by Toronto-based chemist Charles Best (1899-1978). Celebrated for his role in the insulin discovery of 1921, Best had a formidable reputation and extensive experience in isolating and purifying animal extracts. Work on heparin began in 1929 when Best was Assistant Director of Connaught Laboratories. That year he also became the Chairman of the Department of Physiology.
Biological drug development and production tied to resources of the University of Toronto began with the foundation of Connaught laboratories in 1914. Its initial purpose was to produce diphtheria antitoxin, though it quickly expanded production to other biologicals. This process culminated in the insulin discovery that brought further resources to the University of Toronto and Connaught. The result was a world class research partnership focused on developing, refining, and producing biological medicines.
Development of heparin took place at Connaught Laboratories as well as the University of Toronto Departments of Surgery and Physiology. It involved several collaborators including Drs. David A. Scott (1892-1971) and Arthur F. Charles (1905-1972)). Clinical trials began at Toronto General Hospital under Dr. Gordon Murray (1896-1976) in May 1935. A detailed account of the Toronto developmental work on heparin was published by Charles H. Best in 1959. These recount the key achievements of the Toronto-based chemists, including the extraction of heparin from beef lung tissue (a cheap and abundant source compared to liver), and the synthesis of a heparin into a sodium salt extract suitable for production and clinical use (See Best 1959).
Clinical trials took place concurrently in Stockholm under Drs. Erik Jorpes (1894 -1973) and Clarence Crafoord (1899 – 1984) in Stockholm Sweden. Alongside Connaught in Toronto, Kabi Vitrium AB in Sweden emerged as a major producer of heparin.
First used therapeutically to prevent deep vein thrombosis (DVT) following surgery, heparin found many new uses, especially following developments such as cardiopulmonary bypass technology and hemodialysis. (See Ball and Featherstone 2025, 4.)
Connaught Laboratories ceased producing heparin in the early 1950s as other centres could produce it more economically using newer patented techniques. (See Rutty 1996).