DISCOVERY OF

ANAESTHESIA

ROHITH || SAHRUDHAI || AJITH || EBENEZER || YESHWANTH || ARJUN || YASHWANTH || PRAGATHI

 CONTENTS OF PRESENTATION
1. INTRODUCTION
2. MILESTONE 1
3. MILESTONE 2
4. MILESTONE 3
5. MILESTONE 4
6. MILESTONE 5
7. CONCLUSION
 INTRODUCTION
ANESTHESIA: It is a medical
treatment that prevents patients
from feeling pain during procedures
like surgery, certain screening and
diagnostic tests etc.
It is discovered by William TG
Morton.
Anesthesia is the use of
medicines to prevent pain
during surgery and other
procedures.
Anesthesia works by blocking
signals in the nervous
MILESTONE

01
In 1798, Thomas Beddoes
established a "Pneumatic
Institution". At that time,
scientists recently
discovered that air is a
combination of gases.
•Joseph Priestly in 1772
discovered nitrous oxide and
told that different gases
have different effects in
body.
•Davy was put to work in the
laboratory to investigate the
Davy stated that his visible impressions
were dazzling and as the dosage increased
he lost all connections with external things.

Davy eventually lost interest in nitrous

oxide which distracted him from studying
its potential for anesthesia.

After 2 years, he left the institution and

discovered elements like potassium,
sodium, barium, magnesium, strontium and
chlorine, but he never followed upon his
observations on pain destroying effects of
laughing gas.

They concluded it as that, it should not be

blindly condemned for its distractingly
euphoric effects. It was those very
properties that led to the next milestone.
MILESTONE
02
By the 1830s, nitrous oxide and
ether were widely enjoyed for
their recreational effects by
various segments of society,
while being dismissed by
medicine.
Ether, discovered by Paracelsus
in the 16th century, was
observed to produce lethargy
and insensibility to pain by
Michael Faraday in 1818.
Nitrous oxide and ether were
embraced by the public for their
exhilarating effects.
William Clarke, a college
student, administered ether to
a woman for tooth extraction in
1839, but the anaesthetic
benefit was dismissed.
Wells' attempt to introduce
anaesthesia to the medical
world in 1845 was met with a
failed demonstration and
ridicule.
The discoveries and
experiences of Clarke, Long,
and Wells set the stage for the
official discovery of
anaesthesia, which was soon to
MILESTON
E
03
After Horace Wells' failed
demonstration of nitrous oxide
at Massachusetts General
Hospital, his former dental
partner, William Morton, was
disappointed and on the
lookout for better pain relief
methods.
Morton learned about the
properties of ether from
Professor Charles Jackson,
who had discovered them after
an accidental exposure to ether
in his laboratory.
Morton conducted personal
studies and experiments,
On October 16, 1846, Morton
successfully administered
ether to a patient while
surgeon John Warren
performed surgery, marking
a decisive moment in the
"discovery" of anaesthesia.
Despite Morton's success,
ether was initially banned at
Massachusetts General
Hospital because Morton
refused to disclose its exact
nature.
However, he eventually
revealed it, and ether
reappeared as a widely used
MILESTON
E
04
•Morton’s demonstration, a new anesthetic had been discovered
chloroform.
•In a short time, it was completely replaced ether in the British Isles.
•Chloroform in England was probably due to several advantages it had
over ether.
On January 19, 1847, he became the first person to administer
anesthesia in this case, ether to ease the delivery of a baby to a woman
with a deformed pelvis.
•Several months later, Fanny Longfellow, wife of the famous poet Henry
Wadsworth Longfellow, became the first person in the United States to
receive anesthesia during labor.
MILESTON
E 05
Five stages that are similar to the major stages of
anesthesia recognized today:
Stage 1—Patients begin to feel various changes but are
still aware of where they are and can make voluntary
movements.
• Stage 2—Patients still have some mental functions and
voluntary movements, but they are “disordered.”
• Stage 3—Patients become unconscious, losing mental
functions and voluntary motion, though some muscular
contractions may still occur.
Stage 4—Patients are fully unconscious and immobile,
with the only physical movements being the muscular
motions of respiration.
• Stage 5—A dangerous final stage in which respiration is
“difficult, feeble, or irregular,” and “Death is imminent.”
The discovery of anesthesia
revolutionized medicine by
effectively preventing pain during
surgery.
The euphoric properties of
inhaled anesthetics and the
injuries they caused led to the
discovery of their anesthetic
properties.
Pioneers like John Snow and
Henry Bigelow observed the
effects of anesthesia on the mind
and body, including dreams,
altered states of feelings, and
heightened gratitude.
Henry David Thoreau described
The evolution of anesthetic drugs
has progressed since the mid-
nineteenth century.
Nitrous oxide and chloroform
were initially used but faced
limitations and safety concerns.
Ether remained a standard
anesthetic until the 1960s, while
other inhaled anesthetics were
studied but discontinued due to
toxicity or flammability.
Anesthesia involves multiple
components, including sedation,
hypnosis, analgesia, amnesia,
and immobility.
Specific receptors, such as
GABAA receptors, play a role in
 CONCLUSION
The discovery of anesthesia was a revolutionary
breakthrough in the field of medicine. It had
revolutionized surgery, alleviated patient suffering
and opened up new possibilities for medical
advancements by ensuring that the benefits of
anesthesia are maximized while minimising risks.