Mesmerism in India : second half-yearly report of the Calcutta Mesmeric Hospital, from 1st March to 1st September, 1849, containing accounts of formidable and numerous painless surgical operations, and of the successful administration of mesmerism in insanity, and other diseases : to which is added, remarks on the conduct of the English medical journalists, and nearly the whole of the medical profession, in reference to the greatest of medical blessings : with some hints to the public on the employment of mesmerism and on mesmerisers / by Dr. Elliotson.

  • Mesmeric Hospital (Calcutta, India)
Date:
1850
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Mesmerism in India : second half-yearly report of the Calcutta Mesmeric Hospital, from 1st March to 1st September, 1849, containing accounts of formidable and numerous painless surgical operations, and of the successful administration of mesmerism in insanity, and other diseases : to which is added, remarks on the conduct of the English medical journalists, and nearly the whole of the medical profession, in reference to the greatest of medical blessings : with some hints to the public on the employment of mesmerism and on mesmerisers / by Dr. Elliotson. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

    24/48 (page 22)
    Lady—extraction of tooth. Paris. Medical Gazette, Nov. 30j ditto. “ Madame Labrune, 33 years of age, in good health, applied to M. de Confevron with the request that he would administer chloroform to her previously to the extraction of a tooth, which the dentist stated would be effected with some difficulty. “ Having determined to produce only the slightest degree of insensibility, about fifteen grains (one gramme) of chloroform were poured upon a fold of lint the size of a filbert, enclosed in a handkerchief. This was held at a dis- tance from the nostrils by the patient herself. “ Its effects were manifested in eight seconds, and strument was removed from his mouth, and about ten drops more were added. He then almost immediately became insensible, the chloroform was taken away from his mouth, and the nail removed. He continued insensible; and his face becoming dark, the pulse small, quick, but regular, respiration laborious, his neck-kerchief was removed, and the chest exposed to fresh air from a window close to the bed; cold water was dashed on his face, the chest rubbed, and am- monia applied to the nose. After struggling for about a minute, he became still, the skin cold, pulse scarcely perceptible, and soon ceased to be felt at the wrist; respiration became slow and at intervals, but continued a few seconds after the cessation of the pulse. Immediately on the appearance of these symptoms arti- ficial respiration was commenced, by depi'essing the ribs with the hands, and then allowing them to rise again, until the proper apparatus was brought, when respir- ation was kept up by means of the trachea-tube and bellows, and oxygen gas was introduced into the lungs by the same means. Galvanism was also applied through the heart and diaphragm; but all signs of life ceased in about six or seven minutes after the commencement of inhalation. These means were per- sisted in until a quarter-past three, but to no purpose. On removing the inhaler, the sponge, which only contains one drachm, fell on to the floor, and the chlo- roform splashed about, thus showing that considerable part of the chloroform remained unused, so that he could not have inhaled more than a drachm.” I must recall to the memory of my readers Mr. Solly’s conduct in reference to mesmerism, recorded in the present volume.* He refused to remove a woman’s breast under mesmerism, because the effect of mesmerism was entirely mental! and therefore bad ! ! The poor woman suffered dreadfully from the operation and the chloroform, and soon she required another operation, and preferred the pain of it to the misery from the cliloroform : and now her breast is bad again. Whe- ther after thus destroying a man’s life with chloroform, Mr. Solly will still con- sider the innocent and salutary anaesthesia of mesmerism bad, I know not. Let him reflect upon Dr. Esdaile’s successful and painless operations upon toe- nails belonging to feet still used by their possessors. “ Sona, a Hindoo woman, aged 25. Both nails of the great toes are decayed to the roots; their place being filled by fungoid ulcers, the effects of syphilis and mercury. “ She was mesmerised at 12 o’clock, and at half-past one I dissected out the entire root of one nail, without awaking her. The left arm and hand trembled only, and this I subdued by placing her hand between mine for some minutes ; and I left her sleeping. “ August 5th. Repeated the operation to-day with precisely the same effects. On neither occasion did she feel any increase of pain on waking.”-—No. XIII., p. 40. “ Goluck Seit, a prisoner, has got a hydrocele on each side. A young Hin- doo subdued him to-day in ten minutes, on the first trial. Wlien about to ope- • No. XXV., p. 38.