Ancient civilization had used opium poppy, cocaine, alcohol and even phlebotomy/ carotid compression (to the point of unconciousness) to allow surgeons operate.
The evolution of the speciality began in the mid nineteenth century.
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The word ‘ Anaesthesia was coined by Oliver Wendell Holmes in 1846.
Originated from Greek word ‘an’(without) and ‘aisthesis’( inhibition of sensation).
Anaesthesia is a medical subspeciality that deals with the provision of reversible, controllable and predictable methods of pain relief with or without loss of consciousness.
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History.
William T.G Morton was the first in the world to publicly and successfully demonstrate the use of ether anaesthesia for surgery on 16th October 1846.
This was done at the Massachusetts General hospital in Boston., United States of America.
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Chloroform was introduced into clinical anaesthesia in1847 by James Young Simpson, an obstetrician in Edinburgh Scotland.
The use of chloroform was popularized by John Snow, a London physician.
He gave Queen Victoria chloroform analgesia during the birth of Prince Leopold ,this became a forerunner for obstetric analgesia.
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Edmund Boyle introduced the Boyles anaesthetic machine in 1917, a major advancement over previous inhaled agents.
Endotracheal anaesthesia with wide bore tubes was popularized by Magill in 1920.
Intravenous anaesthesia became popular in 1934 with the introduction of thiopentone by Lundy of the Mayo clinic.
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Lignocaine was introduced by Gordh of Stockholm in 1947.
Halothane was introduced in 1956 by Micheal Johnstone of Manchester.
Laryngeal mask airway was introduced in 1981 by Archie Bain as an advancement over face mask
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In the field of regional anaesthesia; Koller of Vienna first demonstrated use of cocaine as a topical anaesthetic for the eye in 1884. This is no longer in use.
An intravenous regional technique with procaine was reported in 1908 by August Bier, the surgeon that pioneered spinal anaesthesia.
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Scope of Anaesthesia.
Anaesthesia is a vast speciality in medical science.
The scope of practice includes;
Perioperative care of patients.
Critical care
Trauma care
Pain management
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Palliative care.
Labour analgesia.
Administrative responsibilities in the daily management of the operating room surgery schedule.