Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-11-04
SHOULD BE ALIVE TODAY.
DR.. Cotton Says the Late Col. Shep-
ards Death Was Due 10 laundering.

Dr. G. Q. Cotton delivered a lecture be-
fore the students of the New York Dental
College recently, taking as his theme, An
aesthesia in Dentistry During the course
Of his remarks he referred to the death OF
the late Col Elliott f. Shepard, who, he
said, would be alive today but for ;gnor-
ance on the part of the physicians who at
tended him.
Il do not claim" he began. that in
point of medical knowledge i am on par
with the eminent physicians who ATTENDED
Col Shepard, but the wisest physicians co
not possess all there is of knowledge.
IF / were to ask any twenty physicians
in this city the question, In case you had
a patient dangerously threatened with con-
gestion. what would you do" probably
nineteen out of the twenty would answer.
Send for OXYGEN This was done in the
case of Col. Shepard. The oxygen afforded
only partial relief, and while they sent for
more the patient died.
Pure oxygen, or oxygen mixed with at
mospheric air. will be but slightly absorb
ed by the lungs. But nitrous oxide is read
lily absorbed. Anaesthesia cannot be pro-
duced by pure oxygen, because the lungs
will not absorb II. Anaesthesia can he
produced in one minute with nitrous oxide.
PROF. Zeigler of Philadelphia wrote an
able work on anaesthetics some years since,
in which he stated that chloroform should
never be administered without having some
nitrous oxide present to restore the patient
in case asphyxia is threatened. why old
he not say oxygen? Simply because he
knew that oxygen would be but slightly
absorbed by the lungs.
In administering ether or chloroform
the normal supply Of oxygen is partially
cut off and there is partial congestion IN
the lungs. The patient is safe so long as
the breast is beating. Some air has to be
admitted with the ether and chioroform or
the patient is killed at once.
In the case of Col Shepard the conges-
ton was attended by vomiting. which en-
HANGED the danger. The blood will never
leave the lungs till it receives a certain
amount Of oxygen, and this must be OBJ
tanned as quickly as possible.
II believe that II the physicians who 1T
tended Col Shepard had sent for nitrous
oxide instead of oxygen the relief would
have been instantaneous and complete, and
Col Shepard would be alive today.
when Mrs. Peter Cooper was dying.
many years ago, she was suffering from
congestion of the lungs and was gasping
for air. She had not sufficient vitality TO
draw enough air into the lungs TO supply
the necessary oxygen. The physicians in
attendance sent over to Prof r. Ogden
Doremus for some oxygen to throw into
the room. Prof. Doremus told them IL was
not oxygen they wanted, but nitrous oxide
He knew, of course, that pure oxygen
would be but slightly absorbed by The
lungs.
THE physicians then obtained a large
supply of nitrous oxide, which they threw
into the room. 1t afforded instante neous
relief. Mr.. Hewitt told me afterward that
IT was apparent to every one present that
the effect of the nitrous oxide was such
that 1t heightened Mrs. Cooper's life for
hours. and relieved her of all distress in
breathing"