The “divine art of destroying pain” has long been beyond human control. For centuries, patients had to endure patiently torment, and healers did not have the opportunity to end their suffering. In the 19th century, science was finally able to overcome pain.
Modern surgery uses general and local anesthesia for pain relief . And who first invented anesthesia? You will learn about this in the process of reading the article.
Methods of anesthesia in ancient times
Who and why invented anesthesia? Since the birth of medical science, doctors have tried to solve an important problem: how to make surgical procedures as painless as possible for patients? With severe injuries, people died not only from the consequences of the injury, but also from the experienced pain shock. The surgeon had no more than 5 minutes to perform operations, otherwise the pain would become intolerable. Armed with the Aesculapian antiquities were various means.
In ancient Egypt, crocodile fat or alligator skin powder was used as anesthetics. One of the ancient Egyptian manuscripts, dated 1500 BC, describes the analgesic properties of opium poppy.
In ancient India, healers used to obtain painkillers based on Indian hemp. Chinese doctor Hua Tuo, who lived in the 2nd century. AD, suggested that patients drink wine before the operation with the addition of marijuana.
Anesthesia Methods in the Middle Ages
Who invented anesthesia? In the Middle Ages, the miraculous effect was ascribed to the root of mandrake. This plant from the Solanaceae family contains potent psychoactive alkaloids. Drugs with the addition of extracts from the mandrake had a narcotic effect on a person, clouded consciousness, dulled pain. However, the wrong dosage could be fatal, and frequent use caused drug addiction. The analgesic properties of mandrake for the first time in 1 in AD described by the ancient Greek philosopher Dioscorides. He gave them the name "anesthesia" - "without feeling."
In 1540, Paracelsus proposed the use of diethyl ether for pain relief. He repeatedly tried the substance in practice - the results looked encouraging. Other doctors did not support the innovation, and after the death of the inventor they forgot about this method.
To turn off the human consciousness for the most complex manipulations, surgeons used a wooden hammer. The patient was hit on the head, and he temporarily fell into unconsciousness. The method was crude and ineffective.
The most common method of medieval anesthesiology was ligatura fortis, i.e. numbness of nerve endings. The measure allowed to slightly reduce pain. One of the apologists for this practice was Ambroise Pare, a court physician of the French monarchs.
Cooling and hypnosis as pain relief methods
The Neapolitan doctor Aurelio Saverina at the turn of the 16th-17th centuries reduced the sensitivity of the operated organs by cooling. The diseased part of the body was rubbed with snow, thus undergoing slight freezing. Patients experienced less suffering. This method has been described in the literature, but few have resorted to it.
Cold pain relief was recalled during the Napoleonic invasion of Russia. In the winter of 1812, the French surgeon Larrey conducted massive amputations of frostbitten limbs right on the street at a temperature of -20 ... -29 ° C.
In the 19th century, during the period of general obsession with mesmerization, attempts were made to hypnotize patients before surgery. And when and who invented the anesthesia? We will talk about this later.
Chemical experiments of the 18th – 19th centuries
With the development of scientific knowledge, scientists began to gradually approach a solution to a complex problem. At the beginning of the 19th century, the English scientist H. Davy established on the basis of personal experience that the inhalation of nitrous oxide dulls a sensation of pain in a person. M. Faraday found that a similar effect is caused by vapors of sulfuric ether. Their discoveries did not find practical application.
In the mid-40s. 19th century dentist G. Wells from the USA became the first person in the world who underwent surgical manipulation under the influence of anesthetic agent - nitrous oxide or “laughing gas”. A tooth was removed to Wales, but he did not feel pain. Wells was inspired by successful experiences and began to promote a new method. However, a repeated public demonstration of the action of a chemical anesthetic ended in failure. Wells was unable to conquer the laurels of the discoverer of anesthesia.
The invention of ether anesthesia
The study of the analgesic effect of sulfuric ether became interested in W. Morton, who practiced in the field of dentistry. He carried out a series of successful experiments on himself and on October 16, 1846 immersed the first patient in a state of anesthesia. An operation was performed to painlessly remove the tumor on the neck. The event received a wide response. Morton has patented his innovation. He is officially considered the inventor of anesthesia and the first anesthetist in the history of medicine.
In medical circles, they picked up the idea of ether anesthesia. Operations with its use were made by doctors in France, Great Britain, Germany.
Who invented anesthesia in Russia? The first Russian doctor who dared to try the advanced method on his patients was Fedor Ivanovich Inozemtsev. In 1847, he performed several complex abdominal operations on patients immersed in medical sleep. Therefore, he is the pioneer of anesthesia in Russia.
Contribution of N.I. Pirogov to World Anesthesiology and Traumatology
In the footsteps of Inozemtsev went other Russian doctors, including Nikolai Ivanovich Pirogov. He not only operated on patients, but also studied the effects of ether gas, tried different ways of introducing it into the body. Pirogov generalized and published his observations. He was the first to describe the methods of endotracheal, intravenous, spinal and rectal anesthesia. His contribution to the development of modern anesthesiology is invaluable.
Pirogov is the one who invented anesthesia and gypsum . For the first time in Russia, he began to fix damaged limbs with a plaster cast. The physician tested his method on wounded soldiers during the Crimean War. However, Pirogov can not be considered the discoverer of this method. Gypsum was used as a fixing material long before it (Arab doctors, the Dutch Hendrihs and Matissen, the Frenchman Lafargue, the Russians Gibenthal and Basov). Pirogov only improved gypsum fixation, made it light and mobile.
Discovery of chloroform anesthesia
In the early 30s. XIX century was discovered chloroform.
A new type of anesthesia using chloroform was officially presented to the medical community on November 10, 1847. Its inventor, Scottish obstetrician D. Simpson, actively introduced pain relief for women in labor to facilitate the process of childbirth. There is a tradition that the first girl who was born painlessly was given the name Anastesia. Simpson is rightly considered the founder of obstetric anesthesiology.
Chloroform anesthesia was much more convenient and beneficial than ether. He quickly plunged a person into sleep, had a deeper effect. For him, additional equipment was not needed, just inhale the vapors with gauze soaked in chloroform.
Cocaine - a local anesthetic of South American Indians
The ancestors of local anesthesia are considered to be South American Indians. They have long practiced cocaine as an anesthetic. This plant alkaloid was obtained from the leaves of the local shrub Erythroxylon coca.
The Indians considered the plant a gift of the gods. Koku was planted in special fields. Young leaves were carefully cut off from the bush and dried. If necessary, dried leaves were chewed and saliva was watered on the damaged area. It lost its sensitivity, and traditional healers started the operation.
Koller Research on Local Anesthesia
The need to anesthetize in a limited area was especially acute for dentists. Extraction of teeth and other interventions in dental tissues caused unbearable pain in patients. Who invented local anesthesia? In the 19th century, in parallel with experiments on general anesthesia, searches were made for an effective method for limited (local) anesthesia. In 1894, the cannula was invented. Dentists used morphine and cocaine to relieve toothache.
A professor from St. Petersburg, Vasily Konstantinovich Anrep, wrote in his works about the properties of coca derivatives to reduce sensitivity in tissues. His works were studied in detail by the Austrian ophthalmologist Karl Koller. The young doctor decided to use cocaine as an anesthetic for eye surgery. The experiments were successful. Patients remained conscious and did not feel pain. In 1884, Koller informed the Vienna medical community of his achievements. Thus, the results of the experiments of the Austrian doctor are the first, officially confirmed examples of local anesthesia.
History of endotracheal anesthesia
In modern anesthesiology, endotracheal anesthesia, also called intubation or combined, is most often practiced. This is the safest form of anesthesia for humans. Its use allows you to control the condition of the patient, to carry out complex abdominal operations.
Who invented endotrochial anesthesia? The first documented case of the use of a breathing tube for medical purposes is associated with the name of Paracelsus. An outstanding doctor of the Middle Ages inserted a tube into the trachea of a dying man and thereby saved his life.
A professor of medicine from Padua, Andre Vesalius, conducted experiments on animals in the 16th century by introducing breathing tubes into their trachea.
The occasional use of breathing tubes during operations has provided the basis for further development in the field of anesthesiology. In the early 70s of the XIX century, the German surgeon Trendelenburg made a breathing tube equipped with a cuff.
The use of muscle relaxants in intubation anesthesia
The massive use of intubation anesthesia began in 1942, when Canadians Harold Griffith and Enid Johnson used muscle relaxants, muscle relaxants, during surgery. They introduced the patient with the alkaloid tubocurarine (intocostrin), obtained from the famous venom of the South American Indians curare. The innovation facilitated intubation measures and made operations safer. Canadians are considered innovators of endotracheal anesthesia.
Now you know who invented general anesthesia and local. Modern anesthesiology does not stand still. Traditional methods are successfully applied, the latest medical developments are being introduced. Anesthesia is a complex, multi-component process on which the health and life of the patient depends.