New-York tribune., 1904-10-09
BRINGS 1T BACK TO LIFE.
Cat 81 Minutes Under 4nesthet'c-
ResuscifGted After Death.

Tie doctors az tho Academy of Medicine on FIJI
6Py night greatly amused by the oemo1sLa
zion which followed the reading Of a paper py y
James T. Gwafh:nsy. The paper entitled hApeii
snents 20 Determine the Value Of Oxygen IN Conl-
binaiion with the Different General An4stheucs'
made necessary the assistance Of two urchins VINO
held three cats while DR.. Gwathmey administered
his snssthetic. The cats scratched the Young a.
sistants severely. DR. Gwathmey has been expert
mentiag with snesthetics for years. He has killed
over one hundred cats in so doing he says.
Dr. Gwathmey declared in part:
Surgeons have stated that oxygen IS preferable
after Effects Of the narcosis But no experiments
hsne oeen mace up 20 S - % noen5eT, e feg ar with
the different arHsthe,ics-
Or. GWathmey then discussed what he called
very eiarlng defect chloroform inhaler sold
and used in Great Britain and elsewhere It has
a closed mask and an expiratoTy valve There is
TO way OF telling the amount os vapor administered
10 a patient and il brings asphyKial symptoms,
according 70 DR.. Gwafhmey. which might prove
dangerous. This has been remedied by Dr. Gwath-
rney in his experiments on cats by placing a small
rubber bag next TO the inhaler. which is easily in
fared and eliminates the danger. The principle
deduced from the experiments. he asserts. is that
the bag increases the value Of all anasthetics.
regards life. without decreasing their anasthetic
effect.
Or. Gwathmey went 10 sa.:
Regardless Of the anesthetic used animals have
lived twice as long with oxygen when air was
used. They usually die quietly with oxygen and In
convulsiOns with air. / may also add here that
their hearts continued TO beat variable length of
time after respiration ceased whether air oxygen
was used. and with all an@sthetics. I have also
been more often successful in Feyiving them after
death when oxygen was used than with air.
Then the young assistants brought forward the
cats, which were put 10 DEATH oxygen being given
with the anssthetic and the rubber bag being used
with the inhaler.
DR.. Gwathmey said that in his experiments re-
Gently twentysix cats were killed with chlOrOfOrm
and afr, the average time being nine minutes the
shortest three and the longest seventeen. Thirty
eight killed with chloroforrn and oxygen.
the average time being twenfy-one minutes, the
shortest hve minutes and the longest one hour and
a half The doctor said this proved that oxygen
was much safer than air. The total average for
air and choroform was s92 minutes. and for oxy-
gen and chloroform. 2l2. Air. ether and oxygen
averaged l9 minutes. and oxygen and ether 81
The paper was discussed favorably by Drs. Rob
ert 7. Norris Frederick HOlne NiRgn. William
Seaman cambridge ana Wallin.
DR.. GWathTney has broughC cats hack To life by
this method. The first cat Of those killed Friday
Was under the anRsthetic for hfty-one minutes and
VAS thoroughly dead. II then resuScitated by
artificial respiration and vigorous massage. The
new method Of anasthesia has been successfully
tried on hospital patients. but Dr. CSwathmey has
not tried 10 bring dead man back to life yet