E is for Ether

The oldest statue in the Boston Public Garden celebrates a drug.  This is the Ether Monument.

Sculpted by John Quincy Adams Ward in 1868, it was as controversial as the discovery of ether itself.

Two medical professionals, Charles T. Jackson, and W.T.G. Morton, claimed to have discovered the anesthetic properties of gases one could inhale.  Neither one is pictured or named on the statue.  Instead, a 'good Samaritan' does the deed.

Oliver Wendell Holmes called it a tribute to "ether or either". 

The controversy included a third man, Horace Wells, who had attempted a demonstration of the anesthetic properties of nitrous oxide in January 20, 1845.

Nitrous oxide is a very weak anesthetic.  If you leave enough room for oxygen in the mix (as one must), it is not effective enough by itself to relieve all pain.  Wells tried to anesthetize a man for a tooth extraction at Massachusetts General Hospital.  "At first, all went well, but then there was a noise.  Some later called it a groan.  Others called it a weak sort of bleat.  The students in the audience jeered at their laughing-gas man.  He heard the word 'humbug' called out over and over again.  No one took much notice when the patient awoke fully and protested that he had experienced almost no pain."1

A year and a half later, when W.T.G. Morton used ether in a more successful demonstration, the attending surgeon (Dr. John Collins Warren) turned to the audience and stated, "Gentlemen, this is no humbug."

Twenty-two years after the first successful demonstration of the drug when the statue was dedicated, the controversy that I described here still raged.  The statue pictures both religious and scientific motifs.  Two hundred and sixty two years later, there is little controversy about the role of anesthesia in medicine.  The arguments about who discovered what first, however, will never be resolved.  The enormous egos involved and their attempts to gain fame and wealth from the discovery, all conspired to blur the truth for all time.

1 Ether Day, Julie M. Fenster, Harper Collins, 2001, p63-64.

Comments

[Manise]

Perfect "E" my friend! Never realized there was a statue in Boston celebrating it. I've learned something new today. :-)

[Theresa]

I hear there's a room at MGH still preserved as another monument to ether. Lovely photos, by the way.

[Norma]

Beautiful! "E" has been a rich letter in the ABC-Along. I love it. Thank you.

[Carole]

Great lesson on ether - I had no idea. I am reminded of The Cider House Rules, however.

[Sharon]

Super interesting. Thanks for posting this. I had no idea there was so much controversy around ether. The Cider House Rules - such a great book.

[Teresa C]

Makes you wonder of that which is controversial today will be acceptable, with no general knowledge of the fight it was to make it so, in another 150 years.

[Sylvia]

I love a woman who not only writes beautifully but includes a footnote on her blog post. You rock!

[claudia]

I've never seen that one. Will go looking for it in the spring.

[Kim]

This is the BEST E!

[--Deb]

I was just going to say, "Wasn't that your E for the LAST abc-along?" and then you linked to it, so of course it was ... still interesting, though!

[margene]

Thank goddess we live in the day we do. Many of would already be dead and gone. Great E, once again.

[Danielle]

Footnotes! My soulmate. Thanks for the story. I'll have to go check out the monument. I don't think I've looked at this one too carefully.

[Marcia Cooke]

Wonderful, perfect E....and just in the nick of time, I might add! ( It's going to take me all of the next two weeks to come up with an F!)

[Lucia]

Fascinating. Remember the M*A*S*H episode where they run out of pentothal (I think) and have to use ether instead, and they have nurses passing out left and right from the fumes?

I had nitrous oxide once for the removal of four teeth. Each one was a little more noticeable, and the last one definitely hurt, but I didn't remember it that well afterward.

[DebbieB]

I, for one, having had multiple surgeries during which I would NOT have wanted to be conscious, truly appreciate anesthesia. :)

[Caroline M]

I shall add this to the list of "interesting things I've found out from knitting blogs". Thank you for giving me a different thought in my day.

[Teyani]

Great "E" Laurie... okay, so now I finally get the name of your blog (duhhh.. call me very silly....) I just figured out that you're an anesthesiologist. (giggles on this end) My Dad is too. Thanks for the great photos and great sotry :-)