General and local anesthesia / by Aimé Paul Heineck.

  • Heineck, Aimé-Paul, 1870-1958.
Date:
1901
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: General and local anesthesia / by Aimé Paul Heineck. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Augustus C. Long Health Sciences Library at Columbia University and Columbia University Libraries/Information Services, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the the Augustus C. Long Health Sciences Library at Columbia University and Columbia University.

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    injuriously affected, nor is the child in any way injured. (Buxton.) The almost complete immu- nity enjoyed by the woman in childbirth, from the accidents of anesthesia, is partly due to the following conditions: Marked hypertrophy of the left ventricle during pregnancy; recumbent posture which patient naturally assumes during delivery; action of the heart is aided by the alter- nate relaxations and contractions of the uterus; the tendency of anesthetics is to produce anemia of the brain. This anemia is counteracted by the labor-pains which give rise to an engorgement of that organ. Pain is a stimulant to the vaso-motor system, and, consequently, there is less danger in anesthesia while labor-pains are in progress. (Hare.) Anesthetics do not, provided the narcosis be not too profound, interfere with the uterine contrac- tions. They do not interfere with the contractions of the abdominal muscles. They weaken the resistance of the perineal muscles. They are of distinct advantage to the mother because by their attenuation of pain the progress of labor is hastened [this fact is especially demonstrable in women that fear pain]; because they calm the extreme agitation and cerebral excitement that labor often produces in very nervous women, and because, by shortening labor, they lessen its trau- matisms, greatly diminish the parturient^s pros-