Before anesthesia, doctors would tie patients down to beds or chairs and use other methods to dull pain. One popular method was to stuff leather belts in patients mouths and have them bite down on it as the procedure is performed. Another ancient method was to place a wooden bowl on the patients head and beat it with a spoon until they lost consciousness. This obviously had later consequences.
One of the first methods of anesthesia to date is acupuncture, invented in China in 1600 B.C.E. Acupuncture is where an acupuncturist pricks your skin and tissue with small needles and is used to treat physical, mental, and emotional damage. Even though it has Chinese origins, acupuncture has gained popularity in the west.
The first real anesthesia was called ether. The first instance of this being used was when a man had a tumor removed after inhaling the vapor. This revolutionized the medical world and lead to many newer and far more effective anesthesias being introduced.
Today, many far more effective means of anesthesia exist. There are anesthesias that are able to put a person under for many, many hours if a complicated surgery needs to be performed.
Fun Facts:
- People who smoke may need larger doses of anesthesia than nonsmokers.
- It's unlikely, but it's possible to wake up and become conscious during surgery.
- Being overweight increases the risk that complications may happen during surgery.
A person being administered anesthesia.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please be respectful. Think to yourself, "Would I say this to a child?"