Anaesthesia Essays on Its History
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Anaesthesia Essays on Its History Springer Berlin He idelberg New York Barcelona Budapest Hong Kong London Milan Paris Santa Clara Singapore Tokyo Anaesthesia Essays on Its History Edited by Joseph Rupreht, Marius Jan van Lieburg, J ohn Alfred Lee, Wilhelm Erdmann Foreword by Thomas E. Keys With 76 Figures and 28 Tables Springer Joseph Rupreht, M.D. Dept. of Anaesthesiology, Erasmus University Rotterdam The Netherlands and University of Ljubljana, Slovenia Marius Jan van Lieburg, Medical Historian Free University Amsterdam and Erasmus University Rotterdam The Netherlands John Alfred Lee, F.F.A.R.C.S. 73 Kings Road, Westc1iff-on-Sea, Essex, SS08PH United Kingdom Wilhelm Erdmann, M.D., Ph.D. Dept. of Anaesthesiology, Erasmus University Rotterdam The Netherlands 1st print 1985 2nd print 1998 ISBN -13: 978-3-540-13255-4 e-ISBN-13:978-3-642-69636-7 DOI: 10.1007/978-3-642-69636-7 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved, whether the whole or part of the material is concemed, specifically those of translation, reprinting, re-use of illustrations, broadcasting, reproduction by photocopying machine or similar means, and storage in data banks. Under § 540fthe German Copyright Law where copies are made for other than private use, a fee is payable to "Verwe~gsgesellschaft Wort," Munich. © by Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 1985 Tbe use of general descriptive names, trade names, trade marks, etc. in this publication, even if the former are not especially identified, is not to be laken as a sign that such names, as understood by the Trade Marks and Mercbandise Marks Act, may accordingly be used freely byanyone. Product Liability: Tbe publisber can give DO guarantee for information about drug dosage and applicationtbereof contained in this book. In every individual case the respective user must check its accuracy by consuiting other pbarmaceuticailiterature. 2119/3140-543210 Foreword to the second print Following the success of the First International Symposium on the History of Modern Anaesthesia (1st ISHA), Rotterdam, May 1982, an international editorial board pre pared majority of papers for print. Additional editing was performed by the Springer Verlag staff. In 1985, two thousand volumes of the book Anaesthesia - Essays on Its History - were printed. Within two years the book was out of print and has become a much sought collector's item. The book became a popular source of scientific refe rences. The 1st ISHA was followed, at five-year intervals by memorable meetings in London, Atlanta and Hamburg. Interest in these meetings has increased so much that the 2001-Santiago de Compostela ISHA will be the first at a four-year interval. Each ISHA meeting was followed by printed proceedings. In parallel to the ISHA meetings historians of anaesthesia organized and present their papers at regular society meet ings. The ever-increasing wave of interest in the history of anaesthesia left many poten tial buyers of the "Essays-1985" empty-handed. The Department of Anaesthesia at the Erasmus University of Rotterdam responded to the demand for this book, the first of its kind, by sponsoring the second print. We are very appreciative to the Springer Verlag Publishers for the expedient production of the second print. Rotterdam, January 1998 Joseph Rupreht Wilhelm Erdmann Foreword to the first print The zealousness displayed by the participants of the First International Symposium on the History of Modem Anaesthesia was most revealing. Over 120 papers were read and there were about 200 participants. Prof. Wilhelm Erdmann, Head and Chairman of the Department of Anaesthesiology at the Medical Faculty of the Erasmus Uni versity of Rotterdam, and the enthusiastie and hard-working Secretary of the Sym posium, Dr. Joze Rupreht (Ljubljana-trained, in the Viennese medical tradition), merit the credit for the enduring success of this undertaking. As a Liberal Arts major, I especially enjoyed meeting many of the pioneers because of their emphasis on humanism. Among the illustrious participants was Sir Robert Macintosh, who inspired Dr. Barbara Duncum to write an outstanding book on the history of anaesthesia. It is also of interest to note that Sir Robert was knighted for his accomplishments on anaes thesia - as was Sir Geoffrey Organe, later. Sir Robert established the Chair of Anaesthesia in Oxford, the first fully endowed chair of anaesthetics in the world. The accomplishments of women in anaesthesia must also be acknowledged. I am thinking especially of Prof. D .M.E. Vermeulen-Cranch of the University of Amster dam, who gave her farewelloration, entitled "Process of Emancipation", in Sep tember 1983. She was the first professor of anaesthesiology in continental Europe, where the spirit of Erasmus of Rotterdam - a great humanist of the Renaissance - still prevails. Influenced by the same spirit, another participant in the Symposium, Prof. Selma Calmes, of the Department of Anaesthesiology at the University of California, Los Angeles, is working on a book showing the accomplishments of women anaes thesiologists, which should be most enlightening. After all, as mentioned in my book The History 0/ Surgical Anesthesia, [1, p. 3] ... the first anesthesiologist probably was a woman, for the head of the primitive family was the Great Mother ... she was priestess and sorceress, and consequently was the founder of the healing art. When a primitive siek man could not relieve bis pain he called on the priestess ... Although one could go into much more detail about the many illustrious partici pants and their accomplishments, this is hardly necessary, as a reading of these excellent papers will attest. There are some omissions, of course, and it is regretted that the great achievements of Dr. John Snow, the first medically qualified anaes- 1 This small volume was frequently reprinted, and even the latest reprint edition (Robert Krieger, 1978) is again out of print. It is time for the newer generation to take over this exciting field. And many new books are in the making, such as those authored by Rod CaIverly and William Beattie. Foreword VII thesiologist, were not included. Perhaps the next symposium will have a paper on his many contributions. Even though his dates are not quite modem (1813-1858), his accomplishments were, especially his book On Chloroform and Other Anaesthetics (1858), the first comprehensive textbook on anaesthesia [2]. There has been a real renaissance of interest in the history of anaesthesia. Among those responsible for this rebirth, besides Dr. Rupreht and Dr. Erdmann, are Dr. Selma Calmes and Dr. Rod Calverley, now on the Board of the new American society, the Anesthesia History Association. It held its inaugural meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, during the annual meeting of the American Society of Anesthesiologists, on 9 October 1983. The meeting was well attended, and the evening was profitable and delightful. Mention should also be made of the accomplishments of the nurse anaesthetists [3]. They are many in number, and generally they work under the direction of a physician anaesthesiologist. Although modem anaesthesia was Ameriea's first great medieal diseovery, it soon traversed the globe and found worldwide acceptance. The British, for example, have made many coeval and historie contributions. Besides Dr. Duncum one thinks of Prof. T. Cecil Gray, who pioneered the British use ofeurare [4], andDr. J. Alfred Lee, whowas a pioneerin the use ofspin~l anaesthesia and is currently working on the fifth edition of a textbook on spinal analgesia [7]. Dr. Lee's latest (9th) edition ofA Synopsis ofAnaesthesia (1982), whieh he edited with his colleagues R.S. Atkinson and G.B. Rushman, is provocative in outlining the many duties of the modem anaesthesiologists [5]. It would appear that to practice adequ ately the anaesthesiologist needs a background in history , physiology, cardiology, biochemistry, physics and other leamed disciplines relating to all branches of medicine. Spaee does not permit me to give details of the aecomplishments of many other nationals, but a reading of the papers in this volume should be of benefit. These papers, besides outlining the important accomplishments of the pioneers - many of whom addressed the Symposium - attest to the past, present and future of this all embracing interdisciplinary specialty. Sir William Osler (1849-1919), whose collection of books and documents on anaesthesia are now housed in the Osler Library at McGiIl University, Montreal, will always be vividly remembered for his profound statements, his eponyms, his idealism and his interest in books and people. His philosophy is weIl defined in his last and finest lecture "The Old Humanities and the New Science" [6], delivered in 1919 when Sir William served as President of the Classical Association, an organization of British scholars which was established in 1904 with this object: "To promote the development and maintain the well-being of classical studies and among other things to encourage investigation and caIl attention to new discoveries. "Harvey Cushing mentioned in the Introduction: In preparation for his lecture he arranged an exhibit illustrating the important part Oxford had once played in science and natural philosophy in days antedating the Royal Society ... He exhibited from his own collection ... those volumes which constituted ... the outstanding classics in Science and Medicine .... He regarded these books as instruments for the advancement of knowledge ... Osler concluded the paper with a statement: "To