Page 416 - My FlipBook

412 ANESTHETICS.

tained over the patient, having reference to the fol-
lowing points : the breathing should be free and easy,
without irritation of the throat or bronchia; the skin

should not become blanched, but should retain a
florid, lively color; but the great criterion is the
pulse, and the indications given here should be strictly
observed and obeyed. In order that the operator
may follow every indication, he should be familiar
with the manifestations of the pulse in different con-
stitutions, and under different circumstances. During
the administration of ether or chloroform, the pulse
usually becomes more frequent ; but it should not be

much accelerated, nor its strength and fullness be
much diminished. Enfeebled or irregular pulse should
in all cases be regarded as a warning; and if the
feebleness and irregularity be very marked, the ope-
rator should desist. In some instances, death has
occurred after a few inhalations ; but perhaps only in
the use of chloroform. This fact indicates that the
first effects of the administration should be very closely
noted.
The degree to which the anaesthesia should be car-
ried, is a matter about which there is much diversity
of opinion. Every condition of it, from that of simple

allayed irritability to that of complete insensibility
and unconsciousness, has its advocates. But the
extent to which the administration may be carried,