Effects of chloroform and of strong chloric ether, as narcotic agents / by John C. Warren.

  • Warren, John Collins, 1778-1856.
Date:
1849
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Effects of chloroform and of strong chloric ether, as narcotic agents / by John C. Warren. 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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    citemcnt scarcely less than that of the discovery of the narcotic effect of ether. The beauty of the article, and the rapidity of its influence, gave it an immediate and general currency ; for not only was it employed by physicians, but the community took the narcotizing drug into their own hands, and, from the highest to the lowest, indulged themselves in the chloroform excitement. This substance, as pro- posed and promised in the remarks I had occasion to make on the subject of etherization, was taken up by me, and fairly tried in a great number of instances, and among the first on my own person; so as to give it a thorough trial in every way. In the cases under our direction, it was used with all the precautions possible. The quantity of chloro- form was limited; and an inhaling apparatus com- monly employed, varying in form according to the ingenuity of the contriver. The apparatus more particularly resorted to was arranged to accomplish inhalation by the nostrils, a sponge or rag being so placed in the box as to permit the mixture of air with the narcotic vapor. We were soon awakened from our dreams of the delightful influence of the new agent, by the occur- rence of unfortunate and painful consequences, which had not followed in this country on the practice of etherization. The profession were led to hesitate, many of them to suspend the use of chloroform, to watch its effects with a jealous eye; and, finally, when the lapse of time produced new cases of fatal- ity in pretty regular succession, some were induced 1*