The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-12-16
100 YEARS OF MEDICINE
DISCOVERY OF ANAEsTHEsIA. GERM
THEORY AND ITS RESULTS.
The ROentgen Ray-Improvements in
Microseopy-PracticaI Effects OF
the Advance I'm Medicine.

While one OF the greatest practical dis
coveries was made during the first half
Of the century. namely. that OF anaesthesia.
nevertheless the first fifty years was
marked by a very slow advance; in point
OF fact. the last twenty-five years Of the
century seems to have been the ~ripening
time. the harvest of medical discovery.
In stating this I would not rob the pion-
GERS in medicine Of any credit. for undoubt-
edly they deserve a great deal, since the
seed for this harvest % discovery were
sown by those who labored during the
early seasons. tut who were destined TO
pass away before the results Of their la
bors fructihed.
As early as 1900 the discovery OF anaes-
thesia was foreshadowed by Sir Hum
phrey Davy in describing nitrous oxide
gas. Sir Humphrey wrote as follows:
"As nitrous oxide gas in Its extensive oper-
alton seems capable Of destroying physi-
cal pain, It may probably be used with
advantage during surgical operations in
which no great loss of blood takes place.
It was not, however, until for.y-four years
later that this observation bore fruit. This
seems especially remarkable in view Of
the fact that the gas was frequently used
for amusement. many people submitting
themselves TO its effect for this purpose,
and from such use IT received the name of
Laughing gas" 1t remained for Horace
Wells, a dentist, of Hartford, Conn.,. to
demonstrate its true value. On Dec. II,
1874. Wells had a tooth extracted with
cut suffering while under the influence OF
laughing gas. His exclamation on awak-
ening was that "a new era IN tooth-draw-
ing had been entered upon" Two years
after Weiss success with nitrous oxide.
DR.. T.. G.. Morton. OF Boston, another dem
fist. administered ether for the purpose
of removing a tooth without pain. On
Oct. IL, 1876, ether was first used in a sur
gicaI operation by DR.. Warren. VINO was
led to try IL by Morton's opportunities.
OF course, Morton's claim to the dis
covery was contested. DR.. Charles
j. jackson. of Boston, urged that he
had suggested the use Of ether to
Morton. and that he, therefore, was
entitled to the honor; yet the testimony
of those who had personal knowledge of
the facts is that Jackson refused to be
present at any of the earlier operations.
and disclaimed all responsibility for any
accident which might occur. To Simpson,
of Edinboro. who. on Nov. 10. 1S47. intro
duced the new anaesthetic. the discovery
of chloroform has been credited, and in
lcOt the ~ - T. HlAluIG was IISl DIOhSul
before the chloroform committee of the
Medical and ChirurgicaI Society of Lon
don. This mixture, which consists of one
part alcohol, two parts chloroform and
three parts ether. has probably been used
more extensively than any other anaes-
thetic, though its inventor is unknown.
A GREATER DISCOVERY.
OF far greater Importance than even the
;-o1-,rx - o-oocfhaffoa uuoe tho 6fcCOxvorv
that the communicable diseases were due to
bacteria The germ theory may perhaps be
said to be an evolution, since it was evolved
from the observations of many workers.
The first person who wrote concerning it
was a Jesuit named Athanasius Kircher.
This observer found living organisms in all
sorts of foul matter-decomposing blood,
infected air, water, etc. The date of Kirch-
er's observations seem to have been
about 1867. OF course, he was unable to
see bacteria, for the microscope OF his time
was too crude for this purpose. What he
did see, and how he saw, remains a mys-
terry. but he drew his conclusions that if
putrefaction was caused outside of the body
by microscopic life. then these minute liv-
ing organisms in the blood within the body
must necessarily cause putrefaction there
also and thus give rise to disease. OF
course. the development Of the microscope,
improvements made in the polishing and
construction of lenses have been of the
greatest Importance in the evolution of the
germ theory. and 1t is not strange when we
remember this to find that Anthony Won
Leuwenhoeck. of Delft, a lens maker, was
the first to see and describe bacteria.
The next great step in the evolution of
the germ theory was the classification of
the germs. While contributions were made
TO this at various times during the opening
years OF the century, 1t was not till 1888
that Christian Gottfried Gutenberg made a
more or less systematic classification.
Ehrenberg's observations were made with
a. improved microscope. and he seems TO
have been the first observer to take up the
coloring of the bacteria by means of pig
ments Ehrenberg created a new era in
the study of bacteriology-1s6s. 1870 and 1915
all mark new eras. In 1863 Pasteur COM
mence6 his work; in 1870 Sir Joseph Lister
applied the teachings of the germ theory
TO surgery for the purpose or preventing
tho entrance of germs into surgical wounds,
and in 1870 Ferdinand Cohn contributed
knowledge OF great Value In still more ac-
curately classifying disease bacteria. The
benefit conferred upon mankind by Listers
work cannot be overestimated; in many
surgical operations which resulted in 90 to
eS per cent mortality the percentages have
been reversed. and 50 to 9S per cent. of re-
~coveries effected. and this splendid result
IS the direct outcome Of Listers work. De-
ductive reasoning based upon the proof Of
the germ theory has raised medicine to the
dignity Of q true science. 1t may be said
that everything in medicine. with the ex-
ception Of bacteriology, has its foundation
I'm pure empiricism. Nearly all the botani-
cal drugs have originated as the result or
crude experiments. For cinchona. which is
one OF the more valuable remedial agents
we have. we are indebted TO the instincts of
the Peruvian Indians. and il was something
like two hundred years before the medical
profession ceased d~ecrying it. Exact knowl-
edge concerning disease germs has made 1t
possible for us first. TO avoid Infection;
second. TO accurately diagnose various dis
eases; third. to nationally and successfully
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