Page 414 - My FlipBook
P. 414
.
CHAPTER XIII.
ANESTHETICS.
ETHER CHLOROFORM NITROUS OX IDE
Sulphuric ether was the first agent successfully
employed for producing insensibility to pain during
surgical operations. It was brought to the notice of
the profession in 1846 by the late Dr. Horace Wells,
of Hartford, Conn.
The mode of administering it is, by inhalation of
the vapor; and it produces its effects in a short time,
depending on the quality of the ether, the amount of
air introduced with it, and the susceptibility of the
patient. A complicated instrument, denominated an
inhaler, was first employed for its administration; but
it soon became apparent that this was not at all
necessary, and that simpler methods were preferable,
because more easily regulated and adapted to varying
circumstances. The best method is, to inhale it from
a sponge or napkin, since, in this way, the admission
of the air can be controlled entirely by the will of the
CHAPTER XIII.
ANESTHETICS.
ETHER CHLOROFORM NITROUS OX IDE
Sulphuric ether was the first agent successfully
employed for producing insensibility to pain during
surgical operations. It was brought to the notice of
the profession in 1846 by the late Dr. Horace Wells,
of Hartford, Conn.
The mode of administering it is, by inhalation of
the vapor; and it produces its effects in a short time,
depending on the quality of the ether, the amount of
air introduced with it, and the susceptibility of the
patient. A complicated instrument, denominated an
inhaler, was first employed for its administration; but
it soon became apparent that this was not at all
necessary, and that simpler methods were preferable,
because more easily regulated and adapted to varying
circumstances. The best method is, to inhale it from
a sponge or napkin, since, in this way, the admission
of the air can be controlled entirely by the will of the
