Cervantes notes of Don Quixote that “…history is in a manner a sacred thing”. There are many reasons that these prosaic words ring true; perhaps most clearly it is because a people's history is its heritage. History defines whence we came, lends an understanding to who we are and in some ways helps us to understand where we can go.

Interventional neuroradiology, endovascular surgical neuroradiology or, its present preferred name, neurointerventional surgery, has a rich, albeit a somewhat brief history. The field's colorful past and its relative youth are made obvious by the very ‘name’ of the field itself, for it has been, and continues to be, called …