E is for Ether

Suffering so great as I underwent cannot be expressed in words...but the blank whirlwind of emotion, the horror of great darkness, and the sense of desertion by God and man, which swept through my mind, and overwhelmed my heart, I can never forget.   -J. Ashhurst1

This was the experience of surgery before October 16, 1846.  Operations were limited to what was considered superficial, survivable procedures.  Amputations, drainage of abscesses,  and tooth extractions were the usual agonizing fare.  It took another 21 years (Joseph Lister's publication of Antiseptic Principle of the Practice of Surgery in The Lancet in 1867) for infection control to be introduced into modern surgical practice.

Anesthesia, in the form of ether, was not the no-brainer most of us would expect.  Eliminating pain during surgery was controversial.  After the first public demonstration of ether at Massachusetts General Hospital by William T.G. Morton, debate and controversy ignited.  In 1847, the New York Journal of Medicine published "pain is essential to the surgical procedure, its removal is harmful to the patient".  The American Dental Association wrote, in response to the "alarming" dissemination of ether anesthesia outside of Boston, that "pain is evidence of God's love of humanity, to alleviate it is to do the work of the devil".2  This was not a minority opinion at the time.

Oliver Wendell Holmes, in the 19th century, wrote "disease itself, the offspring of sin and penalty of a poisoned nature, was for them [17th and 18th century persons] a theological entity rather than a disturbed physiological process".3  It was Holmes who first called the administration of ether "anaesthesia".

It wasn't until 1853, when Queen Victoria elected to have chloroform for the birth of her eighth child that anesthesia gained respectability.

This is a device used to administer ether, circa ~1905.  You can see the beautifully machined copper mask, and the brass reservoir for the gas.  The scale on the bottom calibrated the width of an opening between the reservoir and the mask, on a scale of 1-8.  We do it differently now.

Every person who has ever had an ether anesthetic can remember the nightmare that falling asleep used to represent.  All I can say to those who cursed that darkness, is that it beat the alternatives of the time:  uncorrected disease, or death.

 

1.  Ashhurst, J. Surgery before the days of anesthesia. In:  Warren JC, White JC, Richardson WL, Beach HH,  Shattuck FC, Bigelow WS, editors. Massachusetts General Hospital: The semi-centennial of anesthesia. Oct 16, 1846-Oct 16, 1896, H.O. Houghton & Co, 1897, p27.
2.  Glucklich A.  Anesthesia and the end of good pain.  In:  Sacred pain:  hurting the body for the sake of the soul.  Oxford:  Oxford University Press; 2001, p278.
3. Green, SA, Holmes, OW.  Medicine in Boston.  In: Memorial History of Boston 1630-1880.  Boston:  Ticknor and Co., 1886 p526-70.
4.  Thanks to J. Campagna, M.D., PhD. for his monograph "The end of religious fatalism:  Boston as the venue for the demonstration of ether for the intentional relief of pain"

Comments

[Teresa C]

Great post. Much has been said that I don't need to repeat, but I do want to thank you for keeping the tradition and science of pain free surgery going.

[Maria]

My grandfather was an anaesthesiologist who lived in Hartford, CT, and I still remember him driving us by the statue of Horace Wells and making us learn his name and that he was "the father of modern anaesthesiology". I don't know if Wells is commonly known that way, but I've never forgotten his name.

Why is ether a nightmarish way to fall asleep?

[julia fc]

The anaesthesiologist who lives across the street from me could put me to sleep just talking to me at a party. Talk about a nightmare of falling asleep. Meeting you redeemed the profession in my eyes, you lovely erudite knitter you.
Love that Ashland Bay! Did no one else see the fiber? Who are these people?

[S.Kate]

Excellent enlightening E entry, Etherknitter. Elucidating. Even endnotes!
Ever entertain exhibiting ether-related equipment?
Exiting... exhausted.

[Angela]

I still remember cracking up in vet school the first time I heard an anesthesiologist called a "gas passer."

[Liz Stein]

Even nowadays, there are many people with painful, terminal illness who are not given as much morphine as they need, because it is "addictive," and not enough distinction is made between persons who are going to live long enough to become addicted and persons who are not. The people in charge of handing out drugs are sometimes marvelous; but it is absolutely necessary for a sick person to have an intercessor for him or her, because someone has to ask for it to get it. I wonder about people in nursing homes, for example, who are kept under enough sedation not to become troublesome, but too much for them to voice their pain. Loneliness palpable.

Liz

[Mary in Maine]

Hooray for milk of amnesia!

[susan]

My favorite "E" post, by far. And the roving is gorgeous.

[bev]

Laurie - Being a retired historian and nut for all things antiquated, I found this post really amazing! Thanks for the info. The human thought processes of our past never cease to make me wonder at our survival as a species. ;)

[bev]

Oh, and I love the fiber as well. LOL

[Kris]

Thanks for the medical history lesson. Fascinating!

[Judith]

Fascinating history. Hail the Queen for giving chloroform the green light. The antique ether device is a beauty. I have enjoyed reading this post very much.