The evolution of anaesthesia in the British Isles

Abstract

In 1800, Davy suggested that nitrous oxide might be used to relieve pain during surgery, but no one acted on his suggestion. Morton's 16 Oct 1846 discovery led to ether anaesthesia in Scotland and London on 19 Dec 1846. Liston proclaimed This Yankee dodge beats mesmerism hollow. Simpson discovered and popularized chloroform anaesthesia in 1847. In the late 1840s, Snow developed an anaesthetic vaporiser and correlated anaesthetic dose and effect. In 1904, the General Medical Council (GMC), added anaesthetics as the 16th subject that every medical course and examination should contain.The British Journal of Anaesthesia, andAnaesthesia began publishing in 1923 and 1946, respectively. Magill helped found the Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland (AAGBI) in 1932, and in 1935, the Anaesthetic Section of the Royal Society of Medicine awarded the Diploma in Anaesthesia. Lord Nuffield underwrote the Nuffield Department of Anaesthetics (NDA) at Oxford in 1937. Universities at Bristol (1946), Newcastle-upon-Tyne (1949), Cardiff (Welsh National School of Medicine; 1952) and Liverpool (1959) created Departments of Anaesthesia. In 1948, the Royal College of Surgeons established a Faculty of Anaesthetists, soon to introduce a Fellowship by examination (FFARCS). Parallel developments led to the Irish Faculty of Anaesthetists in 1959. Between 1960 and 1971, 15 new university departments headed by chairs of anaesthesia emerged in the UK.