Historical anesthesia - a presentation by Adalbert (not to be confused with Albert) Benedyk




Anesthesia pioneer Crawford W. Longwas was the first to use anaesthesia during an operation, giving it to a boy before excising a cyst from his neck

Historical anaesthetic techniques (and their first usage):

  • acupuncture (Taoists from China)
  • hyperventilation
  • alcohol



Herbal preparations



Chemicals
  • diethyl ether (dentist William E. Clarke - tooth extraction, January 1842)
  • nitrous oxide - "laughing gas" (American dentist Horace Wells - tooth extraction, December 1844)
  • chloroform (Scottish doctor Sir James Young Simpson, January 19 1847)