Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1872-02-19

A NEW -ANlESTHETIC.-W nave sometimes
thought that a spark OF divine Inspiration must
have been youch<ated to the man who first
discovered the ane<thetic properties of sui
phuric ether Should the grateful millions
whose sufferiugs have been assuaged by the
precious boon desire to erect monument to
his memory they might fluid it difficult to de-
termine whose name should be eugrav,d on the
marble shaft England and America each con-
tend for the houor OF having given birth to the
immortal benefactor, ,aDd multitude OF doctors
on both sides of the ocean have disputed as to
who should wear the palm. As far as We know,
the controversy has not been decided to this
day. Boston has. set up the statue OF one OF It's
own doctors, but a large body of the medical
faculty claim that the chaplet should be worn
by another.
Since then, however, new agents producing
similar results have been discovered, and their
use is more or less associated with the names
of the first bold experimenters who dared to
try their effects both upon themselves aud their
patients Chlorotorm and nitrous oxide gas are
the best known an8stheticS. The inhailng OF
the former has always been supposed to be at
tended with more or less danger, but the per
ceutage of deaths from its use is so small lone
in sixteen thousand cases, according to some
authorities, that few patients refuse to take 1t
when painful surgical operation is about to
be performed There are said to be two or
three cases on record where persons have died
while under The influence OF nitrous oxide gas,
but considering the thousands who take 1t every
day, as administered by dentists, without ex-
perieucng the least >ickne.s or unp.ea SAINT SEN
saiion, IL NAV be considered harmless It has
c,upl tely disarmei tooth pulling OF all its ter
rors
Dr.. Richardson, of L'n1on, has been inves-
tigating new aue>thet,c. to which he has
given the name of hydrau,yl. An account OF
his experiments is given in the ''Ha yearly
Compendium rf Medical Science, Part TX,
(jus. pubishei) which will be found interest
iny reading, even to those who never expect TO
un lergo any more painful surgical operation
than the disiodging of tooth or the lanclng OF
a boil. Dr. Richardson was in the habit of
using uixture of aulyl hydrde and recllled
ether f,r producing local anfesthcsla; that is:
by freezing the SPOT through which the lncis-
ion is to be made by the rapid evaporation OF
the volatile substance spurted upon 1t IN the
form Of spray. He noticed that when the spray
was used for an operation about the nose or
mouth the patient often passed into state OF
general nsensiblty to pain. The sleep pro-
duced was so gentle, so deep. and Yet 50 tenn
porary, that Dr. Richardson rightly supposed
that he was on the track of most valu-
able discovery He forthwith began a series
of experiments in order to ascertain whether
it was the vapor of the ether or Of ny
dride which produced the nsensibity.
and it was not long till he assured him,
self that it was the latter. When inhaled it
created no irritation, induced perfect nsensl-
biliy to pain, and the recovery from its inhu-
ence was siugulaly rapid. The most interesting
fact connected with the Inhalation ofthis gas Is.
that 10 many instances it induces perfect insen-
sibility to pain, and leaves the Consciousness
comparatively unimpaired.
DIR. Richardson has also been experimenting
with methyc ether 10 several cases the pa,
rients, although quite insensib'e to pain, were
able to obey every request made of them, and
some Of tkem kept insisting that they were not
yet ready for the operation because they were
entirely conscious, whereas the cutting was GO
ing on all the time aud they felt 1t not. Que
ladv took the ane ,thetic and then pointed out
successivey the teeth which she wished to
have extracted, adjusting herself IN the chair
after each tooth WIS drawn, and yet felt no
pain whatever From this and other cases
which came under his notice the Doctor very
fairly assumes that 'in the course OF time we
shall discover manageable aud certain anes-
thetic substances which will paralyze sensation
ONLY. leaving the muscular power unatered
and the mental little disturbed. '-Bdhinorr
-4nlertcan.
A TooTHAcHE SroRY.-A Cincinnati den
tist. who had become nervous by frequent burg