Sir James Young Simpson and Chloroform (1811-1870) Book

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1897 Excerpt: ... Four thousand copies of this paper were sold in a few days, and many thousands afterwards. It is worthy of mention that, according to a promise, Professor Miller had sent for Simpson a few days after the discovery to give chloroform to a patient on whom he was about to perform a major operation; Simpson, however, was unavoidably prevented from attending, and Miller began the operation without him--at the first cut of the knife the patient fainted and died. It is easy to imagine what a blow to Simpson, and to the cause of anaesthesia this would have been had it happened while the patient was under chloroform. Thus in little more than a year from the date of Morton's discovery of the powers of ether, Simpson had crowned the achievement by the discovery of the equally wonderful and beneficial powers of chloroform. Already he had made two satisfactory answers to qfc the question he had early set himself--first, the application of anaesthesia to midwifery practice; and, second, the discovery of the properties of the more portable and manageable chloroform; the third, and perhaps the greatest, the defence of the practice, and the beating down of the powerful opposition to anaesthesia was yet required to render his reply complete. CHAPTER VII The F1ght For Anaesthes1a. 1847 Onwards His faith in chloroform--Confused public opinion on the subject--Personal attacks--Opposition on professional grounds--His reply--Opposition on moral grounds--His reply--Opposition on religious grounds--His reply--Her Majesty the Queen anaesthetised--Indiscrete supporters--The Edinburgh teaching of anaesthesia administration--The far-reaching effects of the successful introduction of anaesthesia. PROFESSOR SIMPSON firmly believed that he possessed now in chloroform an anaesthetic agent...