Pain/Infection Flashcards
What was the most common type of operation before the development of anaesthetics?
Amputation
Who discovered Nitrous Oxide and when?
Humphrey Davy in 1799
What was the problem with Nitrous Oxide?
Didn’t knock the patient out
What was the name of the America surgeon to first use ether and in what year?
John Collins Warren in 1846
What was the name of the first British surgeon to use ether?
Robert Liston
Name 2 problems with ether
Flammable, heavy to carry, irritated lungs, eyes, made people vomit
What was the name of the first effective anaesthetic and when was it discovered?
Chloroform in 1847
What was the name of the person who discovered chloroform while having a ‘chemical party’?
James Simpson
Which VIP made chloroform popular on the birth of her 8th child in 1853?
Queen Victoria or Charles Dickens’ wife
Who invented the inhaler to regulate dosage?
John Snow
What event showed there was a problem with dosage in 1848?
Hannah Greener’s death
Give 2 reasons why chloroform was opposed
Unknown dosage, unknown side effects, people believed it was God’s will for women to feel pain in childbirth
What was the period between the discovery of effective anaesthetics and antiseptics called?
Black Period of Surgery - 1847-1867
Who read Pasteur’s work and discovered the use of carbolic acid as an antiseptic and when?
Joseph Lister in 1867
Who could have brought an early end to the higher death rate after anaesthetics?
Semmelweis
What was the name of the equipment that administered carbolic acid?
Donkey engine
What made the discoverer of carbolic acid make the connection other than Pasteur’s work?
It was used to clean Glasgow sewers
What type of injury was carbolic acid first tested on?
A compound fracture
Joseph Lister went on to use catgut as it could be sterilised and used to stitch wounds. True or False
True
What is aseptic surgery
When everything is sterilised outside the operation theatre
Who discovered the steam steriliser?
Koch
What was the name of the medical journal where the discoveries of anaesthetics and antiseptics were published for doctors to read?
The Lancet
What is gangrene?
When cells die when wounds are infected
Who invented rubber gloves?
Halstead
By how much did the death rate drop after antiseptics were used in surgery?
45% to 15%
