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Björk–Shiley valve

mechanical heart valve prosthesis

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General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJan 31, 2026
Entity authorityQ4919628
Source-derived summary

The Björk–Shiley valve is a mechanical artificial heart valve. The valve was co-invented by American engineer Donald Shiley and Swedish heart surgeon Viking Björk.

Beginning in 1971, it has been used to replace aortic valves and mitral valves. It was the first successful tilting-disc valve. It was manufactured first by Shiley Laboratories, then later by Pfizer after that company purchased Shiley. One model of the Björk–Shiley valve became the subject of a famous lawsuit and recall after it was shown to malfunction.

Construction

The Björk–Shiley valve consists of a single carbon-coated disc in a metal housing. The disc is held in place by two metal struts, an inflow and an outflow strut. The housing is made from the alloy Haynes 25, which is composed of 51% cobalt, 20% chromium, 15% tungsten, and 10% nickel. The Björk–Shiley valve was considered very durable and was widely used in the 1970s.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Björk–Shiley valve” as mechanical heart valve prosthesis. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA dependable orientation record for establishing vocabulary, names and a first evidence trail. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1971—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. The account is most persuasive where Björk, Shiley and valve can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as mechanical heart valve prosthesis. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jan 31, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q4919628. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1971.

Critical limits

Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

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  • Locating named sources
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Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Björk–Shiley valve”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Björk–Shiley valve primary sources, Björk–Shiley valve archive and Björk research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Björk–Shiley valve” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.