The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1895-06-16
A NEW ANAESTHETIC.
a Discovery that Has Attracted the
Attention of Eminent Surgeons.

Pittsburg Chronicle-Telegraph.
Eminent surgeons all over the country
wonderful discovery in the field Of ana es-
thetics, that important agency of modern
surgery; DR.. j. III. McClelland. one of the
PRODUCING the methods of DR.. Northrup,
the discoverer Of the oxygen system of
using chloroform. was seen by a reporter
ises TO become the prevailing one through
out this. country. well as foreign lands.
DR.. McClelland said: "Chloroform had
always been regarded as superior to other
was discovered that there were more
deaths with 1t than any ot..er anaesthetic.
of late years has divided the profession in
the use OF the two anaesthetcs. On the
continent chloroform is almost exclusively
used, while in England and America il has
been largely supplanted by ether on ac-
count of the lighter death rate of the lat
ter, although ether is not as satisfactory
an anaesthetic. In England, during the
past year or two. ether was used in con-
nection with nitrous oxide, known as
Laughing gas On account of the rapid
ity of the action, the patient was first
nitrous oxide, and then the anaesthesia was
continued by ether. In America this plan
Mcdonald. of Washington city, perfected
methods by which he dispensed with ether
and continued the use of nitrous oxide.
The objection to this latter agency is
found in the fact that it rapidly carbonates
the blood. and the patient takes on the ap-
pearance of apop4exy. Very few surgeons
have therefore been willing to use the
oxide.
This condition of affairs existed when
DR.. III. l.. Northrup. of Philadelphia, one
of the surgeons of the Hahnemann Hos
pital, in long series of experiments made
last year, finally hit upon the combina-
.,on Of pure oxygen gas with chloroform.
combine a llfe-giving gas with the lethal
or death-deaiing vapor of choloroform. The
experiments made proved surprisingly sue
cessful The effect of combining oxygen
with chloroform that the hearts action
became noticeably stronger, the respira ton
easier. and the patients color instead of
was of a bright. healthy hue. 49, The l most
astonishing result was that the amount OF
choloroform required was very much less
than without oxygen indeed. there was not
more than one-ten,h as much necessary.
THIS discovery was OF much value. As
result of its use in one hunored cases
formed, it was found that the average
time 10 produce anaesthesia was four and
half minutes. and very little no SUBJ
sequent nausea was observed in any OF the
cases
''As soon as these experiments estab-
liShed the value of the discovery. the sur
geors of the Homeopathic Hospital OF this
city. at once cautiously made use of the
method and the result has been salts
factory TO an eminent degree. For four or
five months no other andesthetic has been
used in the institution. and the number of
operations has run up into the hundreds.
The longest operation was three hours and
forty minutes. during which time the pa
tient only received fifteen drachms, or less
than two ounces of chloroform.''
DR.. McCleand is an authority on the sub
ject, and he regards the discovery as ex-
ceedingly valuable and second only in i'm
portance to the discover of anaeStheS
itself, which was first known in 1916 in
hospital practice. He said: I'VE are Civ
ing the best heart stTnuIant known, and
at the same time are aerating the blood
ing" DR.. Nortnrup published a modest
article in regard TO his discovery In medi-
cal journal of February.
The history of anaeStneSfa, one of the
greatest agencies of medical science, began
with SIR Humphrey Davy, who. early i'm
a valuable aid in surgery. Although chic
reform was discovered by Soubreian in 1921,
and although Bell and Flourens used it in
experiments on animals, this declaration
was ignored for more than a generation.
Jackson, Boston chemist, in 1S41, came
upon the anaesthetic effects of ether Three
years afterWard Wells used nitrous oxide
introduced Jackson's ether in both dental
and hospital practice at Boston. England
quickly acknowledged the value of Nor
tons experiment. The French Academy
received reports from Girardin and Yer
rier of the experiments with both ether
and chlOrOform, preference being given the
latter Various diseases were later SUBJ
jected to the action OF the two agents.
DR.. Northrup, by correspondence with
leading European authorities, has demon
strated the fact that oxygen has never be-
fore been used in combination with the
anaesthetic agents as in the present meth
cd. which now bids fair to become the
universal