A history of anaesthesia journals

Abstract

TheLancet first appeared in 1823. The Boston Medical and Surgical Journal (later the New England Journal of Medicine) followed in 1828. These were the principal journals describing medical discoveries, particularly ether's anaesthetic properties. The Lancet in 1838 called Elliotson's performance of operations under mesmerism humbug. Undeterred, Elliotson published 'The Zoist: A Journal of Cerebral Physiology and Mesmerism, and their Applications to Human Welfare' from 1843 to 1855. Were 'Current Researches in Anesthesia and Analgesia' (1922) and the 'British Journal of Anaesthesia' (1923) the first anaesthesia journals? In 1891, US dentist Samuel Hayes published 'Dental and Surgical Microcosm', arguing for the provision of oxygen to avoid 'asphyxial (nitrous oxide) anaesthesia'. Hayes and Microcosm died in 1897.