Anaesthetics Flashcards
Name the three types of anaesthetics
Nitrous Oxide, Ether and Chloroform
What did doctors use before Nitrous Oxide?
Alcohol (Whisky)
Who discovered Nitrous Oxide and when?
Humphry Davy in 1799
Who discovered Ether and when?
William Morton in 1846
Who discovered Chloroform and when?
James Simpson in 1847
Negative side effects of Nitrous Oxide
Patients were still awake and it only made them less aware of pain, it didn’t take it away completely.
Negative side effects of Ether
Vomiting, Irritating lungs, carried in large glass bottles and it was highly flammable. It also made patients cough when they were unconscious.
Negative side effects of Chloroform
No one knew how to get the dosage right. Too little could lead to patients feeling pain, too much could lead to death.
How did James Simpson discover chloroform?
He and some colleagues were testing chemicals.
Why did people oppose chloroform?
Surgeons prided themselves in the speed of their surgeries, anaesthetics meant speed didn’t matter. It was also untested, no one knew the side effects on the brain or body. Hannah Greener is an example of doctors not knowing how to get the dosage right. She died in 1848 and she was the first death from chloroform. Religious people believed that pain was part of God’s plan.
Who invented the inhaler and when?
John Snow in 1848.
