Early Anaesthetics Flashcards
What was surgery like before the mid 19th century
Extremely painful and people would use alcohol to get them drunk before an operation
What did Humphrey Davy discover
That nitrous oxide the laughing gas could kill pain
What other tratement came into lance to prevent pain and who discovered it
Ether by Crawford long
But there were problems as it caused coughing, and vomiting and it could be highly flammable
What did James Simpson discover but what were it’s problems
Chloroform which was quicker acting than ether and didn’t seem to have any side effects
But by 20th century it was discovered that chloroform could cause liver and heart damage
What did anaesthetics mainly solve
The problem of pain
What natural drugs were used as anaesthetics
Alcohol opium and mandrake
Why were surgeons methods very unhygienic
They didn’t have clean clothes and often wore the same coats for years
Operations were carried out in unhygienic conditions and operating instruments were usually unwashed
What did anaesthetics not stop
The high death rate from infection
What are the 2 methods that reduce infection
Antiseptic and aseptic
Antiseptic kill germs that get near surgical wounds
Aseptic aim to stop any germs getting near the wound
What did Joseph lister do we antiseptics to improve surgery
He heard about the germ theory and started using carbolic acids on instruments and bandages which were used as antiseptic
