Bulletin of anesthesia history
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Biography Historical Article
High times, fair maidens, and sweet air: romantic interludes in the life of Dr. Crawford Long.
How does one's knowledge of pain affect the physical "being" of pain? Following German idealist philosophy, unconsciousness to such knowledge would seemingly abdicate the very nature of pain. "Nothing exists but thoughts!--the universe is composed of impressions, ideas, pleasures, and pains!" Humphry Davy exclaimed upon leaping out of the laughing gas chamber where he had breathed some 100 quarts of nitrous oxide. The discovery of nitrous oxide gas as an agent of transubstantiation led to the discovery of the medical science of anesthesia by a genius, but backcountry physician, Dr. ⋯ Long to yearn melancholically for his lover and underestimate his momentous discovery, as the physical abdication of pain could not quench the doctor's subliminal anguish. Within is an account of the arcane nature of one of medicine and history's most significant discoveries, one wrought out of intelligence and the wondrous curiosity of the Romantic period.
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Biography Historical Article
Lucien E. Morris, MD, aqualumnus, inventor, academic and historian.
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The field of anesthesiology has changed dramatically from its humble beginnings. Rags of ether and the art of monitoring blood color for oxygenation have been replaced with precise concentrations of inhaled anesthetic and continuous pulse oximetry. ⋯ We must constantly evolve to adapt to an ever-changing medical profession. It is this spirit and mind-set that will allow the field of anesthesiology to continue to advance and improve the care of our patients.