Anaesthesia

Ether, chloroform and the moment in 1846 when surgery stopped being torture. Also the inhalers, the masks and the long tail of accidents while dosage was learned.

Part of Medicine

84 moments in this segment.

  1. - Containing factitious airs, 1794. Apparatus for producing and containing factitious airs. Dated 1794 in the Commons record. Anaesthesia changed what surgery could attempt, because the limit stopped being the patient's endurance.
  2. - A New System of Chemical Philosophy fp. A scan of Plate IV of John Dalton's A New System of Chemical Philosophy, published in 1808. Dated 1808, credited to haade. Early inhalers were glass and sponge, and the dose was judged by watching the patient rather than measuring the vapour.
  3. - Glass ampoule of liquid chloroform, Paris, France, 1845-1945. Chloroform was used as an anaesthetic from the late 1840s until the 1950s. Liquid chloroform was dropped on to a face mask or vaporised and inhaled by the patient through a face mask. Dated 1845 in the Commons record. James Young Simpson was the first to use chloroform as a general anaesthetic on a human, in 1847. John Snow, better known for cholera, administered it to Queen Victoria in childbirth in 1853.
  4. - Replica of anaesthesia apparatus used by R. Liston.. The image records replica of anaesthesia apparatus used by R. Liston at University College Hospital in December 1846. Dated 1846 in the Commons record. The apparatus of anaesthesia is the apparatus of controlled dosing, developed by trial on people who were awake when it failed.
  5. - Ether Dome Daguerreotype No. 1. Identifications of the surgeons, left to right: Charles Bertody (1824, 1893), unverified, Solomon David Townsend (1793-1869), Charles Frederick Heywood (1823-1893), Daniel Denison Slade (1823-1896), Augustus Addison Gould (1805-1866), ward attendant, John Call Dalton (1825-1889), Samuel Parkman (1816-1854), Jonathan Mason Warren (1811-1867), Henry Jacob Bigelow (1818-1890). According to Rowley. Dated 1846, credited to Rajesh Parsotam Haridas, M.B.Ch.B., F.A.N.Z.C.A.. The Ether Dome at Massachusetts General Hospital is where William Morton demonstrated ether on 16 October 1846, when John Collins Warren removed a tumour from the neck of Edward Gilbert Abbott.
  6. - Maddox-type chloroform inhaler, London, England, 1847-1900. A chloroform-soaked sponge is placed in the large plated copper well and the vapours produced are inhaled by the patient to induce unconsciousness before surgical procedures. Chloroform is highly dangerous and a metal plate behind the perforated mouth piece prevents liquid chloroform being swallowed by the patient. Dated 1847 in the Commons record. James Young Simpson was the first to use chloroform as a general anaesthetic on a human, in 1847. John Snow, better known for cholera, administered it to Queen Victoria in childbirth in 1853.
  7. - Murphy-type inhaler, Dublin, Ireland, 1848-1900. Inhaling anaesthetics was the most popular way of numbing the patient during painful procedures. Edward William Murphy (1802-1877) invented this chloroform inhaler in 1848-1850. Dated 1848 in the Commons record. James Young Simpson was the first to use chloroform as a general anaesthetic on a human, in 1847. John Snow, better known for cholera, administered it to Queen Victoria in childbirth in 1853.
  8. - Administering nitrous oxide gas.. The image records administering nitrous oxide gas. General Collections. Dated 1850 in the Commons record. Horace Wells tried nitrous oxide on himself the day after seeing Gardner Quincy Colton demonstrate it on 10 December 1844. His public demonstration at Massachusetts General on 20 January 1845 failed when the patient cried out.
  9. - Method of administering nitrous oxide.. The image records method of administering nitrous oxide used by Samuel lee Rymer in London, 1863. Wellcome Images. Dated 1863 in the Commons record. Horace Wells tried nitrous oxide on himself the day after seeing Gardner Quincy Colton demonstrate it on 10 December 1844. His public demonstration at Massachusetts General on 20 January 1845 failed when the patient cried out.
  10. - Junker-type inhaler for anaesthesia, London, England, 1867-1. Ferdinand Ethelbert Junker (1828-1901) (sometimes spelt Ferdinand Adalbert Juncker) invented this type of inhaler in 1867. It was to be used with bichloride of methylene or chloroform as the anaesthetic. Dated 1867 in the Commons record. James Young Simpson was the first to use chloroform as a general anaesthetic on a human, in 1847. John Snow, better known for cholera, administered it to Queen Victoria in childbirth in 1853.
  11. - Anaesthesia; Nitrous Oxide Cylinder, 1870. 1870 in the Commons record. Horace Wells tried nitrous oxide on himself the day after seeing Gardner Quincy Colton demonstrate it on 10 December 1844. His public demonstration at Massachusetts General on 20 January 1845 failed when the patient cried out.
  12. - Macewan-type endotracheal tubes, United Kingdom, 1871-1900. William Macewan (1848-1924), a Glasgow surgeon, invented this type of endotracheal tube. He was the first person to use an endotracheal tube to give a patient anaesthetic, in 1878. Dated 1871 in the Commons record. The vapour had to be delivered in a mixture that would not suffocate, which is the whole engineering problem of an inhaler.
  13. - Face mask for Clover's 'Portable Regulating Ether Inhaler',. The face mask is from Clover's 'Portable Regulating Ether Inhaler', which was invented in 1877 by Joseph Thomas Clover (1825-82). The dose of anaesthetic could be controlled using the valves below the face mask. Dated 1877 in the Commons record. Dentistry drove early anaesthesia, since extraction was the common operation people would pay to avoid feeling.
  14. - Morgan-type ether inhaler, United Kingdom, 1881-1890. John H Morgan (1847-1924), a surgeon, introduced his inhaler in the 1880s, one of a range of designs developed by individuals working in this field. An ether-soaked sponge was placed in the end of the cone and the vapours inhaled though the other end. Dated 1881 in the Commons record. Regional and local techniques developed alongside general anaesthesia and account for much of its everyday use.
  15. - The Hyderabad Chloroform Inhaler. Description of the Hyderabad Chloroform Inhaler, or open-ended cone, with Krohne Sesemann's Patent Respiration indicator with directions for use as given by Surgeon-Major Edward Lawrie. Pamphlet, produced by the instrument makers, Krohne and Sesemann, London, to sell the hyderabad inhaler, c. Dated 1891 in the Commons record. Monitoring came late, so for decades the anaesthetist's instruments were a watch and a hand on the pulse.
  16. - Bottle of chloroform, United Kingdom, 1896-1945. Duncan Flockhart & Co Ltd was commissioned by James Young Simpson (1811-1870) to manufacture chloroform from 1847 onwards. In 1847, Simpson became the first surgeon to use chloroform as an anaesthetic during childbirth. Dated 1896 in the Commons record. Obstetric anaesthesia was contested on moral as well as medical grounds.
  17. - German military anaesthesia kit, Germany, 1914-1918. This simple anaesthetic kit would have been intended for use by the German Army during the First World War. Liquid anaesthetics such as ether would be dropped on to the cotton though the funnel and inhaled by the patient before surgery. Dated 1914 in the Commons record. Anaesthesia changed what surgery could attempt, because the limit stopped being the patient's endurance.
  18. - Wellcome Chloroform 1916. Chloroform advertisement from The Chemist and Druggist (12 February 1916). Dated 1916, credited to Unknown author Unknown author. Early inhalers were glass and sponge, and the dose was judged by watching the patient rather than measuring the vapour.
  19. - Anaesthesia; Gas-Oxygen Apparatus, 1931-38. Gas-Oxygen Apparatus. Allen & Hanburys Ltd. Dated 1931 in the Commons record. The apparatus of anaesthesia is the apparatus of controlled dosing, developed by trial on people who were awake when it failed.
  20. - The signs and stages of anaesthesia: No. 1 (1944). Wellcome Library documents The signs and stages of anaesthesia: No. 1 (1944), on material dated 1944. The value here is the inhaler, the mask and the disputed first.
  21. - Handling and care of the patient: No. 11 (1944) Pt. 1 of 2. Wellcome Library presents Handling and care of the patient: No. 11 (1944) Pt. 1 of 2, on material dated 1944. Filed as how insensibility was produced and controlled.
  22. - Nitrous oxide-oxygen-ether anaesthesia: No. 3 (1944). Wellcome Library examines Nitrous oxide-oxygen-ether anaesthesia: No. 3 (1944), on material dated 1944. Kept as gas, vapour and the machine that delivers them.
  23. - Anaesthetics; Morton's Ether Inhaler. Anaesthetics: Relica of Morton's Ether Inhaler, c. Wellcome Images. Dated 1945 in the Commons record. Morton's public demonstration of 16 October 1846 is one of four competing claims. Crawford Long used ether first in 1842 but published only in 1849, Horace Wells demonstrated nitrous oxide unsuccessfully in 1845, and Charles Jackson claimed the idea was his.
  24. - Anaesthetics and their administration, by Hewitt. The image records anaesthetics and their administration, by Hewitt, the administration of nitrous oxide and ether by means of Clover's ether inhaler and Hewitt's nitrous oxide stopcock. General Collections.W. Dated 1950 in the Commons record. Horace Wells tried nitrous oxide on himself the day after seeing Gardner Quincy Colton demonstrate it on 10 December 1844. His public demonstration at Massachusetts General on 20 January 1845 failed when the patient cried out.
  25. - A history of anaesthetics, 1950's - Film 30645. HuntleyFilmArchives documents A history of anaesthetics, 1950's - Film 30645, on material dated 1950. Filed as the inhaler, the mask and the disputed first.
  26. - Trilene inhaler, London, England, 1961-1970. The Central Midwives Board certified this inhaler. It was approved for use by midwives in 1955. Dated 1961 in the Commons record. The vapour had to be delivered in a mixture that would not suffocate, which is the whole engineering problem of an inhaler.
  27. - The development of endotracheal anaesthesia (1965). Wellcome Library presents The development of endotracheal anaesthesia (1965), on material dated 1965. Held for how insensibility was produced and controlled.
  28. - Unterschied Spinalanästhesie-Periduralanästhesie. schematische Darstellung der Spinalanästhesie (A) und Periduralanästhesie (B) im Vergleich. Gezeigt ist ein medianer Schnitt in der Sagittalebene (Höhe mittlere Lendenwirbelsäule). Dated 2003, credited to s. u.. Robert Koch formulated his postulates in 1884, the rules for proving that a specific organism causes a specific disease.
  29. - Instruments-medecine-19e-p1030519. 19th Century surgery and medecine instruments, musee d'Art et d'Histoire de Neuchatel. Dated 2005, credited to Rama. Dentistry drove early anaesthesia, since extraction was the common operation people would pay to avoid feeling.
  30. - CH mask. Non re-breather oxygen mask with reservoir for the acute treatment of Cluster Headache. Dated 2006, credited to Friedrich K.. Regional and local techniques developed alongside general anaesthesia and account for much of its everyday use.
  31. - Airway.larynxmasker.laryngeal.mask.gelei. laryngeal mask i-gel Intersurgical Company. Used in anesthesia. Dated 2007, credited to Qqq1. Monitoring came late, so for decades the anaesthetist's instruments were a watch and a hand on the pulse.
  32. - MGH Ether Dome Outside 29Jan2008. The Ether Dome atop the Bulfinch Building at Massachusetts General Hospital in downtown Boston as photographed from the grounds on 29 January 2007. Dated 2007, credited to Adam Lenhardt. The Ether Dome at Massachusetts General Hospital is where William Morton demonstrated ether on 16 October 1846, when John Collins Warren removed a tumour from the neck of Edward Gilbert Abbott.
  33. - Nitrous-oxide-2D-VB. Structural formulae of the canonical forms of nitrous oxide, N 2 O. Dated 2007, credited to Ben Mills. Obstetric anaesthesia was contested on moral as well as medical grounds.
  34. - Chloroform-3D-balls. Ball-and-stick model of the chloroform molecule. Dated 2007, credited to Ben Mills. Anaesthesia changed what surgery could attempt, because the limit stopped being the patient's endurance.
  35. - IoC- View monitor. The IoC-View monitor for patients under general anaesthesia. Dated 2008, credited to Morpheus Medical. Early inhalers were glass and sponge, and the dose was judged by watching the patient rather than measuring the vapour.
  36. - A visit from the Prime Minister DVIDS109478. Jessica Smith, a nurse assigned to the patient recovery room aboard the Military Sealift Command hospital ship USNS Mercy, gives a tour to Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea Sir Michael Somare. Pacific Partnership is a four-month humanitarian mission providing engineering, civic, medical and dental assistance to Southeast Asia and Oceania. Dated 2008, credited to Petty Officer 2nd Class Mark Logico. The apparatus of anaesthesia is the apparatus of controlled dosing, developed by trial on people who were awake when it failed.
  37. - Entonox Shoulder. An object held in the anaesthesia material of the free record, catalogued on Wikimedia Commons. Dated 2009, credited to Owain.davies. The vapour had to be delivered in a mixture that would not suffocate, which is the whole engineering problem of an inhaler.
  38. - Modern lipid hypothesis of mechanism of general anesthesia. General anesthetic changes membrane lateral pressure profile which determines conformation of membrane ion channel (green lock). Dated 2009, credited to Akuznetsova. Dentistry drove early anaesthesia, since extraction was the common operation people would pay to avoid feeling.
  39. - US Navy 090803-N-2600H-003 Aviation Machinist's Mate Airman Apprentice Xiao Wong services the N. PACIFIC OCEAN (Aug. 3, 2009) Aviation Machinist's Mate Airman Apprentice Xiao Wong services the Nitrous Oxide system on an F/A-18 hornet on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68). Dated 2009 in the Commons record. Regional and local techniques developed alongside general anaesthesia and account for much of its everyday use.
  40. - Reducing Handling Stress. The striped bass are anesthetized to reduce handling stressed. usfwsyouthambassadors.wordpress.com/ www.fws.gov/southeast/youthambassadors/meshes.html Date Taken: Aug 24, 2010, Photo Taken By:Cody Meshes/USFWS. Dated 2010, credited to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Southeast Region. Monitoring came late, so for decades the anaesthetist's instruments were a watch and a hand on the pulse.
  41. - Padihershef: The MGH Mummy. MassGeneralHospital traces Padihershef: The MGH Mummy, published in 2010. Held for monitoring the unconscious patient.
  42. - Central venous catheter. An object held in the anaesthesia material of the free record, catalogued on Wikimedia Commons. Dated 2011, credited to Privatarchiv Foto von MrArifnajafov. Obstetric anaesthesia was contested on moral as well as medical grounds.
  43. - Bazu kələfinin blokadası. Regional anesteziya: bazu kələfinin qortuq nahiyyəsindən icra edilən blokadası. Dated 2011, credited to User:MrArifnajafov. Anaesthesia changed what surgery could attempt, because the limit stopped being the patient's endurance.
  44. - The History of Anesthesia at Massachusetts General Hospital. MassGeneralHospital covers The History of Anesthesia at Massachusetts General Hospital, published in 2011. Its place in the archive is monitoring the unconscious patient.
  45. - Tubings of anaesthesia machine. Picture showing the tubings of Boyle's apparatus. Dated 2012, credited to Netha Hussain. Early inhalers were glass and sponge, and the dose was judged by watching the patient rather than measuring the vapour.
  46. - The Town That Didn't Stare. East Grinstead Museum surveys The Town That Didn't Stare, published in 2012. Held for anaesthesia as a discipline with its own instruments.
  47. - SparkwhipNitrousChargerFront. An object held in the anaesthesia material of the free record, catalogued on Wikimedia Commons. Dated 2013, credited to EvilHom3r. The apparatus of anaesthesia is the apparatus of controlled dosing, developed by trial on people who were awake when it failed.
  48. - The pain, the pain: the history of anaesthesia. The University of Sydney covers The pain, the pain: the history of anaesthesia, published in 2013. Filed as anaesthesia as a discipline with its own instruments.
  49. - History of Anesthesia in the Veteran's Health Administration | Franklin Scamman, MD. University of Iowa covers History of Anesthesia in the Veteran's Health Administration, published in 2014. It sits in the archive as monitoring the unconscious patient.
  50. - Rebecca Kukla on Autonomy, Georgetown University (1/6). The Kennedy Institute of Ethics traces Rebecca Kukla on Autonomy, Georgetown University (1/6), published in 2014. Included as the contested arrival of painless surgery.
  51. - Ether For Anesthesia. MassGeneralHospital surveys Ether For Anesthesia, published in 2014. Carried for anaesthesia as a discipline with its own instruments.
  52. - Mark J. Lema, M.D., Ph.D.. Wood Library examines Mark J. Lema, M.D., Ph.D, published in 2015. It sits in the archive as gas, vapour and the machine that delivers them.
  53. - Patrick Sim. Wood Library surveys Patrick Sim, published in 2015. Its place in the archive is anaesthesia as a discipline with its own instruments.
  54. - 20151103 IV Anesthetics non opioid. University of Kentucky Department of Anesthesiology traces 20151103 IV Anesthetics non opioid, published in 2015. Filed as the contested arrival of painless surgery.
  55. - 20151130 Anatomy of the Anesthesia Machine Part 1. University of Kentucky Department of Anesthesiology examines 20151130 Anatomy of the Anesthesia Machine Part 1, published in 2015. The value here is gas, vapour and the machine that delivers them.
  56. - 20151207 Physics of the Anesthesia Machine Part I. University of Kentucky Department of Anesthesiology examines 20151207 Physics of the Anesthesia Machine Part I, published in 2015. The value here is the contested arrival of painless surgery.
  57. - Mayo Historical Suite - via Periscope.tv. Mayo Clinic sets out Mayo Historical Suite - via Periscope.tv, published in 2016. Kept as anaesthesia as machine and as method.
  58. - NAP5 Total Intravenous Anaesthesia TIVA. Royal College of Anaesthetists traces NAP5 Total Intravenous Anaesthesia TIVA, published in 2016. This is the contested arrival of painless surgery.
  59. - From Medicine to Art: The Creation of “Ether Day 1846”. MassGeneralHospital documents From Medicine to Art: The Creation of “Ether Day 1846”, on material dated 1846. Included as how insensibility was produced and controlled.
  60. - RCoA ARIES Talk: Will we need Anaesthetists in 25 years time by Ramani Moonesinghe. Royal College of Anaesthetists records RCoA ARIES Talk: Will we need Anaesthetists in 25 years time by Ramani Moonesinghe, published in 2016. Filed as apparatus from the century of the painless operation.
  61. - RCoA Final SOE Examination: Long Case Pass Example. Royal College of Anaesthetists records RCoA Final SOE Examination: Long Case Pass Example, published in 2017. Held for apparatus from the century of the painless operation.
  62. - The History of Local Anaesthesia - Dr William Harrop-Griffiths. Gresham College traces The History of Local Anaesthesia - Dr William Harrop-Griffiths, published in 2017. Held for the contested arrival of painless surgery.
  63. - RCoA ARIES Talk: Fatigue and the Anaesthetist by Mike Farquhar. Royal College of Anaesthetists examines RCoA ARIES Talk: Fatigue and the Anaesthetist by Mike Farquhar, published in 2017. Held for gas, vapour and the machine that delivers them.
  64. - Pharmacology - GENERAL & LOCAL ANESTHETICS (MADE EASY). Speed Pharmacology records Pharmacology - GENERAL & LOCAL ANESTHETICS (MADE EASY), published in 2018. Included as apparatus from the century of the painless operation.
  65. - 11 - Anesthesia Induction Drugs 1 - Propofol / Barbiturates. Nagelhout Pharmacology documents 11 - Anesthesia Induction Drugs 1 - Propofol / Barbiturates, published in 2018. Its place in the archive is the inhaler, the mask and the disputed first.
  66. - GENERAL ANAESTHETICS (General Anesthetics). ilovepharmacology sets out GENERAL ANAESTHETICS (General Anesthetics), published in 2019. Included as gas, vapour and the machine that delivers them.
  67. - Neuromuscular Blocking Agents | Skeletal Muscle Relaxant Types and Mechanism of Action (HINDI). Solution traces Neuromuscular Blocking Agents, published in 2019. What it offers is the contested arrival of painless surgery.
  68. - Eternidad anestesica. A female veterinary doctor monitorizes anesthesia during a clinical trial. Dated 2019, credited to Mariaclausse. The vapour had to be delivered in a mixture that would not suffocate, which is the whole engineering problem of an inhaler.
  69. - Welcome to the Wood Library-Museum of Anesthesiology (WLM). Wood Library covers Welcome to the Wood Library-Museum of Anesthesiology (WLM), published in 2019. Filed as monitoring the unconscious patient.
  70. - Arthur E. Guedel Anesthesia Collection. Wood Library presents Arthur E. Guedel Anesthesia Collection, published in 2019. Held for anaesthesia as machine and as method.
  71. - Preoperative Evaluation - (Dr. Hessel). University of Kentucky Department of Anesthesiology documents Preoperative Evaluation - (Dr. Hessel), published in 2020. Held for the inhaler, the mask and the disputed first.
  72. - A Brief History of Anaesthesia. Nostalgic Medicine records A Brief History of Anaesthesia, published in 2020. Included as the inhaler, the mask and the disputed first.
  73. - 2021 History of Medicine Talk Series: A brief history of obstetric anaesthesia in Australia. Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists covers 2021 History of Medicine Talk Series: A brief history of obstetric anaesthesia in Australia, published in 2021. It belongs here as monitoring the unconscious patient.
  74. - Local anesthetics ~pharmacology~. Osmosis from Elsevier traces Local anesthetics ~pharmacology~, published in 2022. Carried for the contested arrival of painless surgery.
  75. - 100 Years of Regional Anesthesia: 1923-2023. ASRA Pain Medicine traces 100 Years of Regional Anesthesia: 1923-2023, on material dated 1923. It belongs here as the contested arrival of painless surgery.
  76. - 100 Years of Regional Anesthesia: Virtual Museum Tour, Part 1. ASRA Pain Medicine surveys 100 Years of Regional Anesthesia: Virtual Museum Tour, Part 1, published in 2023. The value here is apparatus from the century of the painless operation.
  77. - 100 Years of Regional Anesthesia: Virtual Museum Tour, Part 2. ASRA Pain Medicine surveys 100 Years of Regional Anesthesia: Virtual Museum Tour, Part 2, published in 2023. The value here is anaesthesia as a discipline with its own instruments.
  78. - 100 Years of Regional Anesthesia: Virtual Museum Tour, Part 3. ASRA Pain Medicine surveys 100 Years of Regional Anesthesia: Virtual Museum Tour, Part 3, published in 2023. The value here is how insensibility was produced and controlled.
  79. - The dark history of genetics - with Adam Rutherford (2023 HBS Haldane Lecture). The Royal Institution sets out The dark history of genetics - with Adam Rutherford (2023 HBS Haldane Lecture), on material dated 2023. Included as anaesthesia as machine and as method.
  80. - Living Large: Life as a Sauropod - Dino Lecture 2023. Burke Museum records Living Large: Life as a Sauropod - Dino Lecture 2023, published in 2023. Kept as apparatus from the century of the painless operation.
  81. - Crawford Long: Pioneer of Anesthesia and Medical Innovation. World Biography Library presents Crawford Long: Pioneer of Anesthesia and Medical Innovation, published in 2025. Four claimants contest the discovery of surgical anaesthesia and the archive names them without adjudicating. Crawford Long used ether at Jefferson, Georgia on 30 March 1842 but did not publish until 1849; Horace Wells demonstrated nitrous oxide at Massachusetts General on 20 January 1845 and the patient cried out.
  82. - The Day Modern Medicine Was Born: Boston, 1846. The Story of Medicine sets out The Day Modern Medicine Was Born: Boston, 1846, on material dated 1846. Filed as anaesthesia as machine and as method.
  83. - Step inside a Day in the Life at the Anesthesia Heritage Museum 🇬🇧✨. Breezy McLay, CRNA surveys Step inside a Day in the Life at the Anesthesia Heritage Museum 🇬🇧✨, published in 2026. The record it provides is anaesthesia as a discipline with its own instruments.
  84. - European Intellectual History since Nietzsche: Class 9, Freudian Psychoanalysis. YaleCourses presents European Intellectual History since Nietzsche: Class 9, Freudian Psychoanalysis, published in 2026. It belongs here as how insensibility was produced and controlled.
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