road from Wood's laboratory); methods for liquid fluorocarbon respiration explored for protection against high G forces expected during rocket launch and re-entry while leaving and returning to earth's atmosphere in space exploration; methods for the assessment of pleural pressure to determine regional gravitational effects on the lung; indicator dilution curve methodology for the assessment of cardiac output and other physiologic derivative; indocyanine green dye for use in the indicator dilution method; analog subtraction angiography for the assessment of cardiac structures via video fluoroscopy and the earliest predecessor (The Dynamic Spatial Reconstructor) of modern high speed, multi-source / multi-detector row computed tomography for the non-invasive imaging of the beating heart and breathing lungs. Wood's publication list, with more than 700 entries, is a testament to the number of fellows who trained under him and who became prominent researchers in their own right. Early life Earl Wood was born to Inez Goff and William Clark Wood in Mankato, Minnesota on January 1, 1912 and started life on a subsistence farm. William Wood, in addition to farming, was a real estate businessman. Earl Wood earned a B.A. in Mathematics and Chemistry from Macalester College in 1934, and his MD degree and a PhD degree in physiology from the University of Minnesota. Earl was one of 5 brothers (Earl, Chester, Delbert, Harland and Abe) and a sister, Louise. Family All of Earl Wood's siblings grew up to be highly accomplished. Louise A. Wood was awarded the Medal of Freedom by President Truman for her services as over-seas director of the American Red Cross during World War II. and became the executive director of the Girl Scouts of the USA from 1961 to 1972. Harland G. Wood was the first director of the Department of Biochemistry at the School of Medicine and Dean of Sciences, Case Western Reserve University. As a biochemist, he was notable for proving in 1935 that animals, humans and bacteria utilized carbon dioxide and received the National Medal of Science. Chester was a teacher and a university administrator; Delbert was, in succession, a lawyer, a Federal Bureau of Investigation agent, and a railway executive; Abe was an internist and founder of a Colorado-based medical clinic. Not surprisingly, in 1950, Earl Wood's mother, Inez, was awarded the title of "Minnesota Mother of the Year." Earl and his wife, Ada, had a daughter, Phoebe and three sons, Mark, Guy and E. Andrew. References