Anaesthetic Flashcards
What was the solution to pain before 1840
Speed
Operations were so painful that surgeons had to do them quickly
What was wrong with the solutions to pain before 1840
People would move and lead to wrong limbs being chopped off or people could be sent into cardiac arrest due to the shock
Who discovered laughing gas
Humphrey Davy a scientist from Cornwall
What did laughing gas do
Reduce pain
However was unreliable and could knock someone out so it was only used for small surgeries
Who and when was ether first used
In October 1846 John warren carried out an operation in Boston USA using ether and removing a tumour from a patients neck who said then only felt a pin prick
What is wrong with ether
Extremely flammable
Hard on the lungs and causes coughing
Who discovered chloroform
Dr James Simpson a Scottish profesor of midwifery
How did James Simpson discover chloroform
Was looking for better anaesthetics than ether
In 1847 had several colleagues around and spent the evening snuffing various substances and after sniffing chloroform they all collapsed on the floor
Downsides of chloroform
Too much and you could overdoes
Who made the use of chloroform popular
Queen Victoria who used it during childbirth in 1853
What did James Simpson get for discovering chloroform
The first knighthood for medicine
One problem with anaesthetics
Without the factor of pain surgeons would often take surgeries too far and led to an increased chance of death and infection
