Democratic enquirer. [volume] (M'arthur, Vinton County, Ohio) 1867-1873, 1868-04-16
MODERN Surgsry-soIue Of lis wonders.

Modern SuTgeTy-SeIDe OF lis Wonders.
IFrom the Philadelphia Ledger.l
The progress of modern surgery ia most
interestingly discussed in an article in the
March number of the Atlantic Monthly,
The first great and radical step in modern
progress was an introduction of what the
doctors call snesthetic agents. Ether was
brought into use on the Both of March,
1874, by DR.. Morton, of Boston, who ex-
tracted tooth from man, without pain,
by first putting him under the influence of
ether. DR.. G. jackson, the gealogist,
claims to have made the first suggestion Of
ether, and did, unquestionsbly, suggest
great caution in the use of it. Chloroform
was discovered by Sir ]. Y. Simpson, o
surgeon of Edinburgh, Scotland, on Nov.
4, l847 Now no operation Of magni.
tude is performed without the aid of in
sensibility to pain produced either by
ether, chloroform, or some other anesthet-
ic agent. II seems as far back as the 18th
century the idea of painless operations was
carefully considered, but though treated Of
by one Theodoric was apparently laid
aside as practically useless.
The chief effort of the old surgeons was
apparently to produce insensibility in the
operator in inficting suffering BY the To-
cal application Of a sufficient degree of
cold, insensibility can be produced in any
desired part, so that man with most
exquisitely painful wound of his arm or
felon on his finger, can now look quietly
down, in his perfect senses, upon the
knife as it enters his own body, and per-
forms the most dificu operations without
giving him the least pain. Modern science
has constructed an instrument by which a
vapor Of ether, or other volatile substance,
is thrown out in the form of spray, which
so rapidly absOrbs the natural heat of the
body exposed to its operations as to pro-.
duce perfect insensibility 20 pain, without
the loss Of volition of consciousness. This
evaporation is so potent that the great
Faraday was able to produce ice in red
hot crucible DR.. Henry J. Bigelow, of
Boston, has introduced the use of rhigo-
lene, a product of petroleum, which is ex-
tremely volatile, and will freeze up the
skin and textures beneath in a few
seconds, 10 degrees Of cold below zero be-
ing easily produced in few minutes
Artificial legs and arms are now manu-
factured which are light, and have all the
movements Of natural joints, by means of
springs, cords and wheels, and are so per-
fectly adapted TO use, that it Is by no means
easy to discover which is the natural and
which is the artificial limb, when the wear
er is once used to wearing the work of art.
One man boasts, II can carry an armful of
wood quite handily,n or "carry pailful of
water with ease;" another says, 81 was
fitted with pair of artificial hands, and
can feed myself very well with them, also
can write so as to be readO Another de-
clares he has driven horse ''2O miles on
the cOldest day, without calling on his
other hand for assistance This Is great
Improvement on the iron hook, which was
the best substitute that old surgery could
affix TO the stump. These artificial limbs,
however, are triumphs Of mechanical in
genuity, rather than surgery.
A French surgeon mas invented an instru.
ment he calls the eydseur, or crusher, tC
perform operations dangerous in surgery
on account of the loss of blood from The
smaller vessels, if performed with a knife.
1t is formed of a fine chain gathered into
loop, which encloses the part TO be remov
ed, and by turning screw the chain il
frightened until the parts are separated
The blunt chain 30 turns up or twists thu
ends of the blood vessels that hemorrhag
is prevented. A child was born with
tongue so much too long that 1t protrudeC
three or four inches from her mouth, 8,
that she could not masticate her food, O
shut her mouth, or speak. Yet whel
about fifteen years old, under the inhuenc
Of chlor0form, the eraseur was applied, III
superfuous portion Of the tongue removed
and she now talks, sings, and eats wit
ease.
The eye IS now examined by an instru
ment called the opthalmascope, by whicl
the depths of the eye can be readily an,
fully explored, and through its aid 4 grea
deal OF what has been written an / coniec
tured about the diseases of the eye ha
been found TO have been wrong. The In
tricate passages Of the ear, the nose, tn
| whole Of the windpipe and passages 10 th
lungs, are now carefully explored. Per
haps one Of the best results of moderl
science has been through what Is callet
conservative surgery, the rule Of which
TO save all that can be saved from the am
putating knife. Many Of our brave soldier
complained Of the reckless haste witt
which, In the late war, some surgeon
would cut off arms and legs on account o
triHing wounds. The complaint was oftel
just. But one Of the most distinguished
surgeons in the world has lately written
"At Kings college II Is rare to see an am