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History of Anesthesia

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Basic Clinical Anesthesia

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Abstract

The desire to relieve pain has been a never-ending quest for humans and is, therefore, responsible for the birth of the specialty “anesthesiology.” From the earliest records when opium sponges were used to relieve pain until today, the desire to relieve human pain and suffering has been second to none.

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Further Reading

  1. Frolich MA, Caton D. Pioneers in epidural needle design. Anesth Analg. 2001;93:215–20.

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  2. Greene NM. Anesthesia and the development of surgery (1846-1896). Anesth Analg. 1979;58:5–12.

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  3. Griffith HR, Johnson GE. The use of curare in general anesthesia. Anesthesiology. 1942;3:418–20.

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  4. Knapp H. Cocaine and its use in ophthalmic and general surgery. Arch Ophthalmol 1884;13:402.

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  5. Lyons AS, Petrucelli RJ. Medicine: an illustrated history. New York: Abradale Press; 1978. p. 530.

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  6. McIntyre AR. Historical background, early use and development of muscle relaxants. Anesthesiology. 1959;20:409–15.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Waters RM. Pioneering in anesthesiology. Postgrad Med. 1948;4:265–70.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anesthesia and Perioperative Medicine, Emerson Hospital, 133 Old Road to Nine Acre Corner, Concord, MA, 01742, USA

    Paul K. Sikka M.D., Ph.D.

Authors
  1. Paul K. Sikka M.D., Ph.D.
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Paul K. Sikka M.D., Ph.D. .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anesthesia and Perioperative Medicine, Emerson Hospital (former faculty Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School), Concord, Massachusetts, USA

    Paul K. Sikka

  2. Associate Professor, Associate Residency Program Director, Director of Trauma Anesthesiology, Department of Anesthesiology-Presbyterian Hospital, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

    Shawn T. Beaman

  3. Chair, Department of Anesthesia and Perioperative Medicine, Emerson Hospital; Associate Professor, Northeastern University, Boston, MA (former faculty Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School), Concord, Massachusetts, USA

    James A. Street

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© 2015 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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Sikka, P.K. (2015). History of Anesthesia. In: Sikka, P., Beaman, S., Street, J. (eds) Basic Clinical Anesthesia. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-1737-2_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-1737-2_1

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4939-1736-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4939-1737-2

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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