Anaesthetics

Who were the key figures in using anaesthetics?

Humphrey Davy, William Morton, James Simpson

Who was Humphrey Davy?

He discovered that nitrous oxide (also called laughing gas) could be used as an effective local anaesthetic

When was nitrous oxide used?

Although it was effective, it wasn’t widely used until his death and had the problem of causing the patient to laugh uncontrollably - this was problematic for some surgeries

What were the issues with nitrous oxide?

Sometimes not enough would be administered, so the patient would feel severe pain, and it caused the patient to laugh

What did William Morton do?

He experimented with using ether as an anaesthetic

What was the advantage of using ether?

It provided effective pain relief and was used widely in England

What was the disadvantage of using ether?

It was flammable so sometimes hard to store properly, and many patients felt sick or had sore throats after using it. They also often coughed violently during the procedure

What did James Simpson do?

He discovered that chloroform could be used effectively as a general anaesthetic

What does a general anaesthetic do?

Causes the patient to fall unconscious

What were the advantages of using chloroform?

It was more popular than ether, useful as patients were still (rather than coughing or laughing) during the procedure and the patient felt no pain, which meant that surgeons could explore more complex operations

Opposition against anaesthetics

The church and the army widely opposed pain relief

Why did the church dislike anaesthetics?

Many believed that pain in childbirth was sent by God, so using anaesthetics was interfering with God’s will

Why did the British army dislike anaesthetics?

They banned it as they believed that if the patient was in pain, it would help the surgeon understand how they were feeling

What were some failures in anaesthetics?

There was some evidence that anaesthetics could be dangerous or even lethal - such as using too much chloroform

Evidence against using chloroform

Hannah Greener was a girl who died from being given too much chloroform during an operation to remove her toenail - this happened as there was previously no information or knowledge about doses, since it was not realised before then that smaller people (like children) needed to be given less, while tall adults naturally needed a higher dose

How was opposition reduced?

John Snow invented a chloroform inhaler

What was the advantage of using a chloroform inhaler?

It made its possible for doctors to control the amount of chloroform they gave the patient, which reduced the possibility of overdose (or under dose)

What did Queen Victoria do?

She used chloroform when she delivered her eighth child, which encouraged many of the British public to support its use too as is reassured people of the safety and effectiveness of chloroform