/oss/taxonomy/term/2014/all en /oss/article/medical-general-science/anesthetic-gases-can-do-more-put-you-sleep <p>Can you imagine a tooth being extracted without an anesthetic? Or, worse, a limb being amputated? A horrific thought! Yet that was what patients had to contend with until the mid 19<sup>th</sup> century when nitrous oxide and ether appeared on the scene and ushered in the era of painless surgery. Without a doubt, the advent of anesthesia is one of the great moments in the history of science. But as with just about any discovery, be it that of radioactivity, electricity, antibiotics or vaccines, issues arise as time passes and new information comes to light.</p> Thu, 30 Nov 2023 15:58:02 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 9744 at /oss /oss/article/medical-history/anesthesia-la-reine <p>Queen Victoria was the first monarch to give birth to a child under anesthesia. Prince Leopold, the Queen’s eighth child, was born in 1853 after her physician Dr. John Snow had administered chloroform by holding a handkerchief saturated with the chemical over the royal mouth. The results were so satisfactory that the Queen asked for chloroform for her next delivery as well, after which the chemical came to be known in Britain as “anesthesia a la Reine.”</p> Wed, 21 Sep 2022 12:00:00 +0000 Joe Schwarcz Phd 9238 at /oss /oss/article/health-and-nutrition-history/happy-ether-day <p>This past week on October 16 we celebrated National Ether Day. If you missed it, here is why you should not have. Rarely does a single event alter the course of medicine, but that is exactly what happened 175 years ago at Boston’s Massachusetts General Hospital on October 16, 1846, in the surgical theatre that would eventually be christened “The Ether Dome.” Dr.</p> Fri, 22 Oct 2021 19:36:01 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 8906 at /oss /oss/article/health-general-science/knocked-out-put-under-anesthetized-and-sedated-different-types-anesthesia <p>If you’ve read <a href="/oss/article/health-general-science/why-am-i-allowed-drink-clear-fluids-surgery-not-eat">the article I wrote</a> about why patients are allowed to drink clear fluids but not eat before surgery you’ll know that I recently had surgery to repair the ACL and meniscus in my left knee. I was given instructions to stop eating at midnight the evening before surgery so that my stomach would be empty come the morning. This was to reduce the risk that I would regurgitate food from my stomach into my trachea and choke once I was “put to sleep”.</p> Tue, 21 Apr 2020 20:42:05 +0000 Ada McVean B.Sc. 8223 at /oss /oss/article/did-you-know-history/introduction-surgical-anesthesia <p>A dentist named Morton claimed that he could produce surgical anesthesia with this miracle compound and that he would demonstrate it at Mass General. With the observation gallery full and the men prepared to hold down the patient as usual during the surgery, the dentist appeared with the anesthesia machine he had invented to administer the ether. For the first time, a patient underwent major surgery while asleep but with his heart and respiration safely intact. Within a month the word had spread and ether became a powerful part of medicine and surgery.</p> Thu, 25 May 2017 00:14:52 +0000 OSS 2492 at /oss /oss/article/did-you-know-history/anesthesia-allergies <p>A woman became allergic to her husband after twenty five years of marriage. She developed pain all over her body every time he approached her. The cause? A pain killer!  The husband was a dentist and his unfortunate wife developed an allergy to the anesthetic he used in his office. There was enough of a residue on his clothing to cause a reaction. The couple was forced to live apart until the mystery was solved. Eventually it was. The answer then was simple. The dentist took off his work clothes before coming home. Presumably, he put other clothing on.</p> Sat, 20 May 2017 22:55:21 +0000 OSS 2463 at /oss /oss/article/did-you-know-health-history/anesthesia <p>In 1853 the Queen’s personal physician, Dr. John Snow dripped an ounce of chloroform on a handkerchief which was then held next to the royal mouth as Prince Leopold was delivered.  Her Majesty was very happy with the experience and endorsed the use of chloroform.  Many women followed suit, sometimes even naming their newborn children “Anesthesia.”</p> Mon, 09 Jan 2017 21:44:46 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 2365 at /oss /oss/article/drugs-health-history/great-moment <p>Rarely does a single event alter the course of medicine, but that is exactly what happened at Boston’s Massachusetts General Hospital on October 16, 1846 in the surgical theatre that would eventually be christened “The Ether Dome.” Dr. John Collins Warren, having just excised a growth from the neck of a patient rendered unconscious with ether, looked up at the physicians and students who had witnessed the epic event, and declared, “Gentlemen, this is no humbug!”</p> Mon, 01 Jun 2015 11:40:53 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 2263 at /oss