Henry Hill Hickman

By
Dr. N . Raja Sekar
Henry Hill Hickman
 Henry Hill Hickman

BIO DATA

DOB: Born on the 27th of January 1800.

Place of Birth: Halton near Bromfield in South Shropshire,
UK.
Parents: Son of a Tenant Farmer.
Early Education: Little is known about his early education but he
probably trained as a surgeon by apprenticeship to a local man.
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Biodata cont…

Medical Education: In 1819 he went to Edinburgh as a medical

student leaving before getting his degree.
He then spent sometime in London where he became a member
of the Royal College of Surgeons in 1820 (5 May 1821).
 Henry Hill Hickman

In 1820 he returned to Shropshire where he started a medical practice

in Corve Street, Ludlow.

Corve Street where Hickman practiced (early 20th century )

Henry Hill Hickman

His waistcoat and Door plate

 Henry Hill Hickman

Experiments

Between 1820 and 1824, Hickman carried out a series of experiments.

Motivation: Find a method of preventing suffering during operations.
He carried out his tests on animals. enclosing a puppy beneath a glass
cover, and depriving the pup of oxygen while increasing the amount
of carbon dioxide. When the puppy was unconscious he amputated
an ear without the puppy apparently feeling pain. He repeated
these experiments increasing the concentrations of carbon dioxide
and also using an adult dog and mice as subjects.
Henry Hill Hickman

Puppy beneath a glass cover

 Henry Hill Hickman

Experiments…
Hickman was a meticulous scientist and recorded all his
experiments accurately and methodically.
Conclusions from these experiments: Carbonic Acid gas had the
potential to render man unconscious.
He did not have the authority to transfer his experiments on
animals to man.
Wished for backing from the scientific world.
He sought help by sending the results of his experiments to a
leading scientist of the day.
 Henry Hill Hickman

Experiments…
In the 1820s the use of carbon dioxide, the first gas to be
isolated and recognised as something apart from air. The
dosage required to produce suspended animation by asphyxia
was less critical and the dangers not obviously greater; thus
Hickman's choice of gas was reasonable within the context of
the knowledge and technology available to him at that time.
 Henry Hill Hickman

• Experiment 1st March 20th

I took a puppy a month old and placed it on a piece of wood surrounded by water over which I placed a glass cover so as to prevent the access of atmospheric air; in ten minutes he showed great marks of uneasiness, in 12
respiration became difficult, and in 17 minutes ceased altogether, at 18 minutes I took off one of the Ears, which was not followed by haemorrhage, respiration soon returned and the animal did not appear to be the least sensible
of pain; in three days the ear was perfectly healed.

• Exp. 2nd.

Four days after the same puppy was exposed to a decomposition of the carbonate of lime by sulphuric acid. In one minute respiration ceased. I cut off the other Ear which was followed by very trifling haemorrhage, and, as before,
did not appear to suffer any pain, in four days the wound healed. The day after the operation he seemed to require an additional quantity of food, which induced me to weigh him, and I found he gained 9 oz. 1 dr. and 24 grains in
9 days.

• Exp. 3rd April 6th

I took the same puppy and proceeded as in Exp. 1st, and respiration was acted on in much the same manner. I cut off the tail and made an incision over the muscles of the loins through which I passed a ligature and made it tight.
No appearance of uneasiness until the day following, when inflammation came on and subsequent Suppuration. The ligature came away on the 7th day, wound healed on 12th, and the dog is remarkably increased in size and now
perfectly well.

• Exp. 4th.

A Mouse was confined under a Glass, surrounded by Water by means of a small tube a foot long. I passed carbonic acid Gas very slowly prepared into the glass, respiration
ceased in three minutes, I cut all its legs off at the first joint, and plunged it into a basin of cold water, the Animal immediately recovered and ran around the table apparently without pain; the stumps soon healed and I kept it a
fortnight, after which I gave it liberty.

• Exp. 5th.

I took an adult dog and exposed him to carbonic acid Gas quickly prepared and in large quantity; life appeared to be extinct in about 12 seconds. Animation was suspended for 17 minutes, allowing respiration occasionally to
intervene by the application of inflating instruments. I amputated a leg without the slightest appearance of pain to the animal. There was no haemorrhage from the smaller vessels. The ligature that secured the main Artery came
away on the fourth day and the dog recovered without expressing any material uneasiness.
• Exp. 6th.

I exposed a Rabbit to the same Gas as Exp. 5th, and cut off both Ears and I experienced a similar result.

• Exp. 7th.
 Henry Hill Hickman

Publication.

In 1824 Hickman wrote to Thomas Andrew Knight, sending him details

of his experiments. He expected Knight to forward the letter to
Humphry Davy, the President of Royal Society and published work on
the effects of inhalation by gases (nitrous oxide).
Unfortunately Knight does not appear to have done anything with
Hickman's letter.
Frustrated and disappointed Hickman had his work privately printed in
1824.
The pamphlet was entitled "A letter on Suspended Animation“.
Henry Hill Hickman
 Henry Hill Hickman

Publication…

Hickman hoped that this would come to the notice of the scientific world.
Unfortunately this did not occur and the Royal Society remained ignorant
of his discoveries.
In desperation he sent a letter, setting out his experiments, to the
Shrewsbury Chronicle on June 3rd 1825. There does not seem to have
been any response to his article in the paper.
In 1826 the Lancet, the most prestigious and widely circulated medical
journal of the day, published an article deriding his work as “surgical
humbug” .
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Publication…

Not finding support among the scientific community in Britain Hickman

travelled to France.
He hoped for some recognition there.
He wrote to Charles X of France and waited, hoping for an opportunity to
speak before the Academie Royale de Medecine. However no invitation
was forthcoming and after two months he returned to England.
M.Geradin, of the Academie Royale de Medecine in Paris took note of the
letter and reffered it to Subcommittee. The committee members failed
to report back and no further action was taken on the matter.
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Shrewsbury Chronicle 3.6.1825

 Henry Hill Hickman

Publication…

On his return to England he set up a practice in Tenbury Wells,

where he remained until his premature death at the age of
thirty from TB on 2nd April 1830.
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Hickman's Legacy
Hickman was several years ahead of his time.
His dream of pain free surgery came true fifteen years after his death. In 1846 the
dentist W.T.Morton successfully performed a difficult tooth extraction by
rendering the patient unconscious using ether.
Following this there were many claims for the first discovery of the effects of gas by
inhalation.
During discussions M.Geradin, of the Academie Royale de Medecine in Paris,
recalled that he had been sent a paper on the subject by an English Physician
some 15 or 20 years earlier.
At the same time in Britain, a Dr Dudley re-examining Hickman's publications and
applied to Hickman's wife for papers to verify the claim that he was the true
pioneer. Sadly she seems to have lost or destroyed his notes.
 Henry Hill Hickman

Honour To Henry Hill Hickman

In1929, a century after his death, that the Royal Society of

Medicine decided to honour him in recognition of his
experiments and foresight.
A memorial service was held at Bromfield church and a stone
plaque unveiled.
Today, the basis of Anaesthesia is still the loss of consciousness by
the patient through inhaling a mixture of gases. Although these
do not include Carbonic acid the principle remains the same.
 Henry Hill Hickman

He chose the wrong gas – later researchers would use safer

gases such as nitrous oxide or ether – he did prove that gas
inhalation could prevent pain during a surgical operation.
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Hickman's memorial
Henry Hill Hickman
Henry Hill Hickman
 Henry Hill Hickman

Napoleonic Surgeon-in-Chief Dominique-Jean Larrey

• He was perhaps the only figure who appreciated the potential

significance of Henry Hill Hickman's work on "suspended
animation".