Dr. Charles T. Jackson's statement of the history of his discovery of the means of preventing all sensations of pain in surgical operations by administration of vapor of pure sulphuric ether mixed with air, by pulmonary inhalation.

  • Jackson, Charles T. (Charles Thomas), 1805-1880.
Date:
[1851?]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Dr. Charles T. Jackson's statement of the history of his discovery of the means of preventing all sensations of pain in surgical operations by administration of vapor of pure sulphuric ether mixed with air, by pulmonary inhalation. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the National Library of Medicine (U.S.), through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the National Library of Medicine (U.S.)

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    !'<r of Aiucsthctic. Agents. Many substitutes have been proposed for sulphuric ether, in surgical operations. Anion others, a Norwegian chemist proposed to employ the bi-sulphuret of carbon, which is made by passing vapor of sulphur over ignited charcoal. This preparation was immediately tried by me, / upon myself, with the most astonishing rapid production of entire unconsciousness. I then administered it to Mr. George C). Barnes, and to Mr. George J. Dickenson, two of my pupils, who were rendered un- conscious in a lew moments by this powerful agent; but I quickly dis- covered this experiment was eminently dangerous to life—partial as- phyxia taking place, so as to give me much anxiety as to the result. \ therefore abandoned its farther use, and denounced it as dangerous to life. A correspondent having urged me to make the trial of cenanthic ether made from oil of wine, 1 prepared a quantity of it, and made the ex- periment of full inhalations of it on my own person, with the most pain- ful results. The cenanthic ether producing severe headache, vertigof and nausea, which lasted for several days. I also read in the French newspapers, that aldehyde would serve as an anaesthetic agent, and I immediately prepared that article, and tried il on my own pi rson, with results like those produced by cenanthic ether. These two agents 1 therefore discarded, as unfit for inhalation. I made a long series of experiments on the compounds of methyle, the radical of wood naptha, and found but one that would serve as an anasiliciic agent. It is that admixture of chlorine and methyle, analo- gous to the ter-chloride of formyle, or chloroform, which I found acted like chloroform, and like it was dangerous in its concentrated state, but not so when diluted with sulphuric ether. I therefore sometimes- tee it so prepared, and no accident has taken place from its use. Benzoic was proposed by Mansfield, I think, as a substitute for chlo- roform. I have used H on my own person, and found it so irritating to the tonsils, as to forbid further trial. It seems to act much like impure chloroform, but is not so active. Thus, it will be perceived that I have given every agent, known to myself, or prepared by others, a fair trial, experimenting first on myself in all eases, and then on such of my brave pupils as were willing To submit to my experiments. Thus far, no agent in safety can be compared lojmy original pure washed sulphuric ether, inhaled freely, mixed with air; and I have never heard of a single fatal accident happening from the administration of this agent, as originally directed by me. It is unfortunate for mankind, that pure or concentrated chloroform was ever substituted for sulphuric ether, for all ihe prejudices against anaesthetic agents in the community arose from ihe fatal and disagree- able effect* produced occasionally* by that powerful agent. In the course of time the public will learn to discriminate between two very different substances, and will learn that the clear vapor of chloroform is likely to produce asphyxia, by drowning, if drawn into the lun»s with- out very large dilution with air. They will learn, also, that sulphurous acid often exists in large propor- tions in these anaesthetic agents; and that great care must be used in