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Question

If you have ever had surgery to remove your tonsils or wisdom teeth, you probably have had an anesthetic. You barely felt anything. You may even have slept through the event. Be glad that you live at a time when anesthetics are available. The first anesthetics were not very strong and did not work well. Surgery was painful and rare. Many potions and herbs were tried before Joseph Priestly discovered nitrous oxide. Humphry Davy, while working with the gas, found that it worked to eliminate pain for a time. Doctors and dentists used nitrous oxide for years. Then William Morton and others experimented with ether, a gas that was safer and more effectively. By the early 1900s, ether, was largely replaced by chloroform. As anesthetics improved, more complex surgeries became possible. Today, a variety of anesthetics are available. Some are inhaled, and some are injected. Rather than knocking a patient out for hours, anesthesiologists may now put them slightly under, eliminating pain for the surgical process and working them as it ends.

Answer 1

Anesthetics have greatly improved over time, allowing for more pain-free surgeries. The first anesthetics were not very effective, but Joseph Priestly's discovery of nitrous oxide and Humphry Davy's experiment with it led to its use in eliminating pain during surgeries. William Morton and others then experimented with the safer and more effective gas, ether, which later was largely replaced by chloroform. As anesthetics continued to improve, more complex surgeries became possible. Today, there are a variety of inhaled and injected anesthetics available. Anesthesiologists can now put patients slightly under, eliminating pain for the duration of the surgical process and waking them as it ends.