Ether/Or

6: The Depth of the Problem

Over sixty years after the discovery of chloroform anaesthesia, doctors would finally get a conclusive answer about its risks. And as we head towards the 200th anniversary of William Morton’s ether demonstration, new problems with the modern…

5: The Commissions

Chloroform could stop patients breathing if you accidentally gave too much, but could it also cause the heart to suddenly stop beating? John Snow thought it did, but doctors in Scotland disagreed. Through the second half of the 19th century,…

4: By Principle or By Rule

Chloroform's ease of use and lack of side effects compared to ether made it an attractive choice for doctors and patients, but as its use spread across the country, doctors and dentists using it would discover it could have sinister conseque…

3: A Scottish Solution

Now ether anaesthesia had been discovered, how were doctors going to use it? And what was the experience like for the patients? As doctors struggled to get to grips with this new discovery, they'd look for solutions to some of ether's proble…

2: A Question of Attribution

Horace Wells' nitrous oxide demonstration had been a disaster, but in it an old colleague would see opportunity. A second demonstration of painless surgery would have an altogether different outcome, would turn colleagues into rivals, and wo…

1: The Agony and the Ecstasy

How does surgery with anaesthesia today compare to surgery without it? And how did we discover that breathing in gas could relieve the pain of an amputation? In the mid 19th century, scientists were discovering new gases, and new ways to exp…

Introducing: Ether/Or

Ether/Or is about the discovery of anaesthesia, and all its advantages. But it's also about the many problems that came with it. From failed attempts to fatal consequences, the introduction of anaesthesia in 1846 was a major leap forward for…