Anaesthesia and Intensive Care

Mesmerism had its roots in late 18th century France, but it was not until the 1830s in Britain that it was systematically applied to the problem of pain. The application of mesmerism in the clinical setting was extremely contentious and it was with some relief that doctors turned to the far more consistent results of chemical anaesthesia. However, though mesmerism were superseded by chemical anaesthetic agents in many areas of application, mesmerism continued to have a life during the second half of the 19th century. In the 1850s, the decade following the introduction of ether and chloroform, Dr John Elliotson established the London Mesmeric Infirmary, in which he used mesmerism both therapeutically and for pain relief, and established a training programme for apprentice mesmerists. In the mid-1890s on the other side of the globe, Mr Newham Waterworth travelled from Tasmania up the east coast of Australia, performing public demonstrations of mesmerism for pain relief during dental extractions. The first of these took place in Hobart in 1890, more than 40 years after many in Britain had declared mesmerism dead. The extractions were performed by respected dentists and, according to witnesses, Waterworth's mesmerism produced the same effects of insensibility to pain as ether and chloroform. With an examination of the continued application of mesmerism after the advent of chemical anaesthesia, this paper will focus on the work of Newham Waterworth in the 1890s and speculate as to why mesmerism might have resurfaced to some appeal in the Australian colonies in this period.

Controversial procedures in medicine are likely to be discussed in the community as everyone is interested in their health. If the practice is subjective, that is, clear proof is not readily forthcoming, there are likely to be both strong supporters and opponents. In the 18th and 19th centuries, when the dissemination of news was slow, such controversies lasted many years and were likely to appear in novels, drama and poetry of the period. This article gives examples of animal magnetism, mesmerism and hypnosis in contemporary literature.

On 16 February 1845 the Reverend W. H. Browne, rector of St John's Church in Launceston, Van Diemen's Land, wrote in his journal, “My dear Wife died very suddenly almost immediately after and in consequence of taking a preparation of Hyd. Cyan. Acid prepared & supplied by Dr Pugh”¹. This journal entry raises a number of questions. Was Dr Pugh treating a condition which he thought merited that treatment or was it a ghastly mistake? Was Caroline Browne suffering from pulmonary tuberculosis? Was hydrocyanic acid an accepted treatment at that time? Did Mrs Browne take the wrong dose? Was an incorrect concentration of the drug prepared by Dr Pugh? Did he use the wrong pharmacopoeia in preparing the hydrocyanic acid? Why was there no inquest? Only some of these questions can be answered.

We endeavored to thoroughly review Greek mythology and collect tales dealing with anaesthesia and myochalasis (paralysis). Among the evaluated sources were the poems of Hesiod, the epics of Homer, the tragedies of the great Athenian poets (namely Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides) as well as the contributions of several Latin writers, including Ovid. We found several examples of achieving hypnosis, analgesia and amnesia through the administration of drugs (inhaled or not) and music. Adverse events of drugs used for this purpose, such as post-anaesthetic emergence delirium, hallucinations, respiratory arrest and penis erection, were described in the presented myths. We noted that providing sleep was considered a divine privilege, although several mortals (mainly women) exhibited such powers as well. The concepts of sleep and death were closely associated in ancient classical thought. This review may stimulate anaesthetists’ fantasy and may help them realise the nobility of their medical specialty.

The Phillips airway was developed by George Ramsay Phillips. There is no known original description of the airway and the earliest known reference to it is from 1919. The airway and its modifications are described.