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September 1996
Volume 60 |
Number 9
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| The Ether Centennial
of 1946: A Celebration of Morton's Achievement |
Douglas R. Bacon, M.D.
Wood Library-Museum of Anesthesiology Fellow (1989, 1991, 1994)
One of the most important moments in American medical history
occurred on October 16, 1846. On that day, William T.G. Morton
used "Letheon" to anesthetize Gilbert Abbott for the
removal of a jaw tumor at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.
For the first time, surgical anesthesia had been publicly demonstrated1
and became the first American contribution to medicine that would
forever change patient care. The magnitude of the event can be
judged by the time it took for Morton's news to traverse the world.
Within eight months, operations under ether anesthesia were being
performed in Australia, literally half the world away from Boston.2
October 16, 1946, marked the centennial of Morton's demonstration.
It was a curious time for America; World War II was over, and
the nation faced economic challenges in shifting to a peace-time
economy. Jobs were scarce, but labor was not. Demobilized soldiers
searched for employment and places to live. America was in transition.
The American and New England anesthesiology societies sensed that
change. In a three-day joint meeting held on October 15-17, 1946
[Figure 1], the program for the centennial
celebration led the audience from anesthesia's past to the present
problems being encountered in the field.3
Each morning, clinical demonstrations were held in two different
Boston hospitals to describe innovative anesthesia techniques.
During the afternoon, prominent anesthesiologists from across
the country summarized the knowledge in a specific area and described
the challenges that lay ahead.
The conference opened on Tuesday, October 15. From 7:45 a.m. until
noon, the program participants went to either the Boston City
Hospital or the Massachusetts Memorial Hospital. From 9:30 a.m.
until 12:30 p.m., they had the option to attend the Massachusetts
General Hospital's symposium titled "On the Fundamental Nature
of the Anesthesia Process." The afternoon session was devoted
to "Some Basic Problems of Anesthesia." From 8 p.m.
to 10:30 p.m., ASA and the New England Society of Anesthesiologists
held a joint meeting. The group was addressed by the prominent
surgeon Frank Lahey, M.D., on "Anesthesia's Aid to Surgery,"
while the well-established anesthesiologist Albert H. Miller,
M.D., of Providence, Rhode Island, spoke about "Ether Anesthesia
Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow." The papers were then discussed
by no less than Henry K. Beecher, M.D., Chief of the Anesthesia
Service at Massachusetts General Hospital and the Henry I. Dorr
Professor of Research in Anesthesia at Harvard University.
The events on Wednesday, October 16, were no less auspicious.
The morning operative clinics were held at the New England Baptist,
Deaconess and St. Elizabeth hospitals and the Lahey Clinic. The
morning symposium at Massachusetts General Hospital was titled
"Some Physiological Effects of Wounds." After lunch,
Mayo Clinic Anesthesiology Chief and ASA President John S. Lundy,
M.D., presided over a blue-ribbon panel of experts. ASA Immediate
Past President and University of Wisconsin Chief Ralph M. Waters,
M.D., spoke on "Absorption of Carbon Dioxide -- Its History
in Anesthesia." Wesley Bourne, M.D., ASA President in 1942
and an anesthesiologist from Montreal, spoke on "Gaseous
Anesthetics." H.W. Featherstone from Burton-on-Trent in England
rounded out the program with his paper on "Chloroform."
That evening, the meeting concluded with the ether centennial
program at Harvard University.
Thursday, October 17, opened with operative clinics offered at
the Massachusetts General and Faulkner hospitals. After lunch
at the Hotel Sheraton, New England Society President Leo V. Hand,
M.D., led another afternoon panel. Stuart Cullen, M.D., Chair
of Anesthesiology at the University of Iowa, discussed "Curare,
Historical Review and Present Experiences." He was followed
by Lahey anesthesiologist Philip D. Woodbridge, M.D., who spoke
on "Spinal Anesthesia." R.C. Adams, M.D., from the Mayo
Clinic closed the afternoon program with a paper on "Intravenous
Anesthesia." That evening at the Sheraton, a formal dinner
was held. Dr. Beecher was toastmaster, and J.F. Fulton, M.D.,
the Sterling Professor of Physiology at Yale, addressed the group.
Massachusetts General Hospital held a special commemoration ceremony
for its staff and the general public [Figure
2]. Admission was by invitation only, signed by both the medical
staff and the Board of Trustees of the hospital.4
Interestingly, it was Nathaniel W. Faxon, M.D., who issued the
invitation on behalf of the hospital's staff and not the more
logical choice, Dr. Beecher, the hospital's chief anesthesiologist.
The Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences
circulated an "Anesthesia Centennial Number" for
the fall issue of the publication in October 1946.5
It was the final number of that year's issue, and it capped off
a period of growth that ensured the establishment of the journal.
The centennial issue sought to bring the entire history of anesthesiology
together in one place. Starting with an overview of surgical anesthesia
from 1846-1946 by Josiah Trent, M.D., the journal then plunged
into a history of anesthesia from antiquity to 1946.
The history of anesthesiology was divided into two broad categories.
First, several essays dealt with critical issues and personalities
from the past. Articles covered Mesmerism and anesthesia in obstetrics,
pharmacology and endotracheal anesthesia. A special article covered
the career of Britain's first full-time anaesthetist, John Snow,
M.D., and was written by medical historian Thomas E. Keys, D.Sc.
(Hon.).
The second major division in these essays concerned the arrival
and subsequent history of anesthesia in countries around the world.
Dr. Waters wrote about American developments and stressed the
early history of organized anesthesiology. The anesthesia story
in France, Germany, Sweden, Spain, Portugal, Latin America and
Turkey was spelled out within the pages of the journal. Peter
Parker, an American missionary in China, introduced the Far East
to ether anesthesia and had a most remarkable essay written about
the event.
The ether centennial in 1946 was celebrated in the midst of tumultuous
times for both America and the specialty. ASA was small but was
growing both nationally and regionally as is evidenced by the
joint meeting between ASA and the New England Society of Anesthesiologists.
The worldwide nature of the event was clearly explained in the
Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences.
This year, as 150 years of surgical anesthesia is celebrated,
the times are no less tumultuous and the history of anesthesiology
no less fascinating than it was in 1946. This anniversary is a
time to reflect upon the past, as is so well-documented within
the confines of the Wood Library-Museum of Anesthesiology, and
to use the lessons contained therein to guide us as anesthesiology
moves toward the second half of its second century.
References:
1. Robinson V. Victory Over Pain. New
York: Henry Schuman; 1946:124-128.
2. Wilson G. One Grand Chain. Melbourne,
Australia: The Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists;
1995:1-47.
3. Ether Centennial Program. Collected Papers
of Albert Miller, M.D. Available in: The Wood Library-Museum of
Anesthesiology, Park Ridge, Illinois.
4. Invitation to the One-Hundredth Anniversary
of the First Public Demonstration of Surgical Anesthesia. Collected
Papers of Albert Miller, M.D. Available in: The Wood Library-Museum
of Anesthesiology, Park Ridge, Illinois.
5. Rosen G, ed. Journal of the History
of Medicine and Allied Sciences; 1946:1:505-710.
Douglas R. Bacon, M.D., is Assistant Professor
of Anesthesiology, State University of New York at Buffalo, and
Chief of Anesthesiology Service, Veterans Affairs Western New
York Healthcare System, Buffalo, New York.
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