World
Anesthesia Day
World
Anesthesia Day
World Anesthesia Day commemorates the
first successful demonstration of ether anesthesia on
October 16, 1846. This is considered as one of the most
significant events in the history of Anesthesia. The
demonstration took place at the surgical operating
amphitheater in the Bulfinch Building at Massachusetts
General Hospital.
William Thomas Green Morton, an American
dentist, used ether to anesthetize Edward Gilbert Abbott.
John Collins Warren, the first dean of Harvard Medical
School, then painlessly removed part of a tumor from
Abbott's neck. After Warren had finished, and Abbott
regained consciousness, Warren asked the patient how he
felt. Reportedly, Abbott said, "Feels as if my neck's been
scratched". Warren then turned to his medical audience and
uttered "Gentlemen, this is no Humbug".
This discovery made it possible for
patients to obtain the benefits of surgical treatment
without pain associated with surgical operation. 16th
October is now globally recognized as World Anesthesia Day
in respect of the importance of this event.
In order to celebrate, we have launched
this web site to increase public awareness, and provide the
state of the art knowledge about anesthesia.
Figure 1: An illustration of the first
use of ether as an anesthetic
Picture
2: Reproduction of original illustration of
the first use of ether as an anesthetic
Picture
3: William T. G. Morton (1819-1868)
Picture
4: Bulfinch Building at Massachusetts General
Hospital
Picture
5: The Ether Dome at Massachusetts General
Hospital
References:
·
William
Thomas Green Morton. In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved
from: http://www.britannica.com/biography/William-Thomas-Green-Morton
·
William
Thomas Green Morton. In Encyclopedia of World Biography.
Retrieved from: http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/William_Thomas_Green_Morton.aspx
·
William
T. G. Morton. In Wikipedia. Retrieved from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_T._G._Morton
·
Anesthesia
History Milestones. Retrieved from: http://www.massgeneral.org/anesthesia/about/history.aspx
·
Creating
the Ether Dome Painting. Retrieved from: http://www.massgeneral.org/museum/exhibits/ether-dome-painting/