Anonymous

“ Both surgeon and patient were much affected, and the scene in the theatre was most impressive. All appeared to see what an incalculable boon was in store for the human race, and Liston could scarcely command his voice sufficiently to speak. ”

“ After the administration had proceeded for about half a minute, the subject of the experiment suddenly sprang up and felled the anæsthetist with a blow, and, sweeping aside the assistants in the arena, sprang shouting up the benches, scattering the students, who fled like sheep before a dog. ”

“ Allen, of Philadelphia, in 1842, and while under its influence he extracted a tooth without causing her pain. Collier’s lectures excited general attention at the time, and there is little doubt that they gave a fresh impetus to research on the subject of anæsthesia by inhalation. He must therefore be regarded as an important pioneer, who, had he given up his ideas of mesmerism and proceeded systematically with his plan of making the body insensible by inhaling the vapour of alcohol, would have had no one to dispute with him in priority. ”

“ Morton’s experiments with ether
In 1846, W. T. G. Morton (referred to previously) who had been in partnership with Wells as a dentist, and assisted him in the unfortunate experiment with nitrous oxide in Boston, now directed his attention to the finding of a more suitable anæsthetic for painless operations in dental surgery. After many unsuccessful attempts with various narcotics, Charles T. Jackson, a chemist of Boston, whose pupil he had been, suggested that he should try sulphuric ether, the properties of which had been known for so long. ”

“ Aconitine as met with in commerce has been found to vary greatly in purity, and therefore in physiological effect. It is of the utmost importance that a definite strength should uniformly attach to so powerful a drug, and this is secured in the ‘Wellcome’ Brand product, which is free from pseudaconitine and japaconitine, and from the non-toxic aconine and benzaconine.
Atropine Cocaine
The alkaloid Atropine is, under this brand, issued free from hyoscine and hyoscyamine. Cocaine and its hydrochloride are prepared in a state of purity answering fully the most rigid tests. ”

“ Long himself admits that he considered ether impracticable owing to the shortness of the anæsthetic state, and he therefore abandoned its use.
Marcy’s experiment
Towards the end of the year 1844, Dr. E. E. Marcy, a surgeon of Hartford, is said to have administered ether to a patient, and to have removed an encysted tumour about the size of a walnut from the scalp.
It is stated that Horace Wells was present at this operation, which was quite successful, but, being warned that ether was dangerous to life, the experimenters abandoned its use in favour of nitrous oxide gas. ”

“ William Squire in an apparatus he had devised, which consisted of a large bell-shaped receiver containing the ether, to which was attached a long tube and mouthpiece. The patient, a middle-aged man, who was suffering from malignant disease of the skin and tissues of the calf of the leg, for which amputation of the thigh was deemed necessary, passed easily into complete insensibility, and Liston rapidly removed the thigh, the cutting operation being declared to have lasted only thirty-two seconds. ”

“ Assuming a most skilled and competent administrator, an ideal method of administration, and a suitable patient, an unsatisfactory result can only be attributed to the chloroform employed. Purity an essentialPurity of chloroform is a most important factor in contributing to safe anæsthesia. The physician claims that absolute purity shall characterise all medicinal agents, and the justice of the claim is acknowledged by the trend of recent legislation.Danger of impurities Purity is a prime essential of any anæsthetic. ”

“ As late as 1847, Chisholm, of Inverness, recorded his use of a drug given internally to produce anæsthesia for surgical purposes; he substituted the internal use of morphine for ether inhalation in a case of ablation of the breast successfully performed upon a woman, who declared that she felt no pain during the operation.
Anæsthesia by com­pres­sion of the carotid arteries revived
Other means of producing insensibility were suggested in the eighteenth century, and the antient method of compressing the carotid arteries was revived. ”

“ Take of opium, of the juice of the unripe mulberry, of hyoscyamus, of the juice of hemlock, of the juice of the leaves of mandragora, of the juice of the woody ivy, of the juice of the forest mulberry, of the seeds of lettuce, of the seeds of dock, which has large round apples, and of the water-hemlock, each an ounce: mix all these in a brazen vessel, and then place in it a new sponge; let the whole boil as long as the sun lasts on the dog-days, until the sponge consumes it all, and has boiled away in it. ”

“ It is almost inconceivable in these days to realise, that for thirty-nine years these substances were used for experimental purposes, and even for amusement, without a realisation of the great blessing to humanity that lay almost within grasp. ”

“ He tells us that “the phenomena repeated themselves with all faithfulness, and there can be no doubt that, in the absence of our now more convenient anæsthetics, ‘morion’ might still be used with some measure of efficacy for general anæsthesia.”
Further allusion is made to mandragora as a surgical anæsthetic by Apuleius in his “Liber de Herbis,” in which he says: “If anyone is to have a limb mutilated, burnt, or sawn, he may drink half an ounce of mandragora with wine; and while he sleeps the member may be cut off without any pain or sense.” ”

“ The anæsthetics issued under the ‘Wellcome’ Brand denote the highest degree of perfection and purity.
‘Wellcome’ Brand Products
It is well known that considerable variation exists in the quality and activity of the medicinal chemicals of commerce.
The need for reliable Medicinal Chemicals
Purity and reliability are matters of the utmost importance to prescriber, dispenser and patient alike, and every opportunity should therefore be taken to ensure the supply of only those chemicals and galenicals which are known to be thoroughly pure and trustworthy. ”

“ The things that are apparently most plain may lie longest buried; so with the discovery of efficient anæsthesia, which even then developed in an indirect manner.
Mesmerism as an Anæsthetic
Mesmerism in antient times
From the earliest ages the apparent power of some men to influence the minds and bodies of others has been known. Certain diseases were said to be affected by the touch of the hand of certain persons, who were supposed to communicate a healing virtue to the sufferer, and these practices were often connected with religious and magical rites. ”

“ Stovaine, or benzoyl-ethyl-dimethylaminopropanol hydro­chloride, more recently introduced, is a synthetic product elaborated by Fourneau, and derived from tertiary amyl alcohol. It is much less toxic than cocaine, but its comparative value still remains to be proved by further trial. Tropa-cocaine, a drug closely allied to cocaine, and derived from the leaves of the Java coca plant, has recently been much used in Germany, but it does not appear to possess any advantages over cocaine or eucaine. ”

“ According to an antient German legend, the mandragora always grew with greater luxuriance beneath or near a gallows, for the flesh of the felons hanged thereon was believed to nourish the mysterious root in which the demon dwelt. ”

“ Greatrakes aroused great interest in England by his supposed power of being able to cure scrofula by stroking the patient with his hand. Most of the distinguished scientific men of the day, such as Sir Robert Boyle, witnessed and attested his cures, and thousands of sufferers crowded to him from all parts of the country. Since his time other men have come forward with similar claims, notably one Gassner, a Roman Catholic priest of Swabia, who in the early part of the eighteenth century attracted attention by stating that he could cure the majority of diseases by exorcism. ”

“ The earliest reference to anæsthesia by inhalation is contained in the works of Herodotus, who states that the Scythians were accustomed to produce intoxication by inhaling the vapour of a certain kind of hemp, which they threw upon the fire or upon stones heated for the purpose. This was probably Cannabis indica, or Indian hemp, which was employed by Oriental races as an anæsthetic from very early times. ”

“ It is perfectly stable in all climates, and permits of the instant preparation of fresh reliable solutions possessing the characteristic hæmostatic and other properties of the supra-renal gland. Similarly, as the result of researches carried out at the Wellcome Physiological Research Laboratories, crystalline salts of a specific alkaloid, which produces the characteristic effects of ergot on the blood-pressure and the uterus, have been obtained in a state of chemical purity. ”

“ Its reception by the profession verifies the theory upon which its production is based. It has been largely used in hospital and in private practice, and with gratifying results. Reports from most experienced anæsthetists agree in regarding ‘Wellcome’ Brand Chloroform as a distinct advance. Its constancy in composition gives confidence76 in administration, and its freedom from irritating and Confidence in admini­stra­tion depressant principles removes the source of many of the accidents which have hitherto been regarded as grave objections to the employment of chloroform as an anæsthetic. ”

“ This led him to believe that some kind of occult force resided in himself, by means of which he could influence others. He held that this force permeated the universe, and more especially affected the nervous systems of men. ”

“ The supposed likeness of the root to the human form gave rise to many of the superstitions connected with mandragora, and it was believed in early times that there were actually two distinct species, viz., male and female. ”

“ In 1880, Von Anrep, who made a careful investigation of the drug, hinted that the alkaloid might be of use in general surgery as a local anæsthetic, and Koller undertook a series of experiments on animals in the laboratory of Professor Stricker, in which he found that complete anæsthesia of the eye, lasting, on an average, ten minutes, followed the introduction of a two per cent. ”

“ When you want to sew or cut a man, dip a rag in this, and put it to his forehead and nostrils. He will soon sleep so deeply that you 23may do what you will. To wake him up, dip the rag in strong vinegar. The same is excellent in brain-fever, when the patient cannot sleep; for if he cannot sleep, he will die.”
Anæsthesia in romance
The writers and poets of mediæval romance in more than one instance allude to anæsthesia produced by drugs. Boccaccio, who wrote his “Decameron” in 1352, in the story of Dionius, alludes to a certain anæsthetic liquid of Surgeon Mazzeo della Montagna, of Salerno. ”

“ The presence of impurities largely increases the risk inseparable from the use of chloroform. The train of symptoms observed during the normal process 71of anæsthesia may be masked and altered, and dangerous results may supervene under the most competent, careful and observant administrator. ”

“ Barton relates an amusing incident which happened prior to the operation. Before the patient was brought in, the anæsthetist asked the students who crowded the benches in the theatre from floor to ceiling for some volunteer who would submit himself to be anæsthetised. A young man, Sheldrake, of very powerful build and a good boxer, at once offered to take the new anæsthetic, and came into the arena. “He lay on the table, and the anæsthetist proceeded to administer the ether. ”

“ During the seventeenth century the belief in the narcotic draughts of the antients for producing anæsthesia appears to have waned, and few allusions are made to them until the middle of the eighteenth century, when fresh interest seems to have been excited in the subject. The famous Boerhaave is said to have used opium as an anæsthetic, both by inhalation of its vapour and also by internal administration in powder.Boerhaave’s anæsthetic According to Van Swieten, in his commentaries upon Boerhaave’s “Aphorisms,” the following is given as the recipe: “Oil of cinnamon, 2 drops ”