Our ancestors did not have the privileges of using modern medicines that are now available to doctors. People had to endure hellish pain during surgical operations, and the only anesthetic was plants or “medicines” from old healers.
No physicians, even with an official license, used anesthesia (they simply did not know anything about it), which could put the patient into an unconscious state and completely relieve pain. It was believed that it was enough to use plants or mixtures of dubious quality, which often led to the death of patients directly during the operation, precisely because of such "drugs".
Despite the fact that today medicine is equipped with many medicines and tools, they managed to reach such abundance by trial and error. We bring to your attention 10 points that influenced the development of anesthesia.
1
Ancient anesthesia
The history of anesthesia in its initial version is from 4000 BC. e. At the same time, the development of medicine as such began. There is no doubt that the ancient civilization that originated in Mesopotamia used opium poppy during operations, due to its analgesic effect.
In artifacts, it was found that opium poppy was used at least from 4000 BC. e. for dental operations. He helped reduce pain and dull feelings during the painful procedure. It turns out that if you lived at that time in an area with an abundance of this plant, you would be able to get a certain dose of opium before the doctor started drilling teeth.
By the way, on most-beauty.ru there is a very interesting article about poppy flowers, their types and varieties.
2
Beer
But not one opium was used as an anesthetic for invasive surgery. In some regions, poppy replaced beer.
It is believed that beer was invented before bread, namely 12,000 years ago. Apparently therefore, ancient doctors considered it a good tool for pain relief and used during surgery.
Sumerian civilization, an ancient culture, where they began to make beer. People had unlimited access to the drink and could revel in it so as not to feel pain during operations. It was also mixed with flowers and other plants, which enhanced the analgesic effect, in this state a person could sit motionless for a certain time until all medical procedures were completed.
3
Henbane
Although bleached with its light yellow flowers is considered a toxic plant, it is often used by traditional healers to relieve pain. The scope of application of bleached is unusually wide: Rome, Babylon, Ancient Greece and Egypt - in all those named by civilization it was used as anesthesia.
If the bleach is applied directly to the wound or smoking, it will not show its toxic properties. But, if you eat a plant - expect bad consequences, as a rule, a disease or even death occurs. For the same purpose, the inhabitants of the Mediterranean used belladonna, which shows the despair of doctors who did not have opium, beer or other means of intoxication.
4
Medieval anesthesia
In 1298, on the eve of Christmas, one of the Italian doctors remembered the proven pain medication that he used during the operations. It was called opium, and the name of the doctor was Theodrik Luke. He was the author of a large number of works on medicine and even wrote textbooks in the veterinary field, but his most famous creation was a manual on operations dating back to 1266.
Theodore studied with his father, who used opium to relieve pain in patients, but improved the method somewhat. He soaked the tissue in an opium solution, allowing the patient to inhale the drug, which helped intoxicate the brain and bring the person into an unconscious state. This effect was much stronger from the common use of opium poppy.
The practice of Theodoric was a turning point in the history of the development of painkillers. Despite the fact that opium was used more than 5 thousand years before, it was Theodoric’s method that showed how it should be applied.
5
Ether
A botanist from Germany, Valerius Kordus, in 1540 decides to synthesize ether, a colorless liquid with a high rate of steam production. The danger of this gas was its lightning ignition. This property of nitrous oxide was a serious problem at a time when doctors used candles as an illuminating agent.
A slight breeze on the move led to the ignition of the operating room, but despite the danger, ether was the most preferred means of anesthesia for most doctors of that time.
Despite the fact that Cordus is considered the pioneer of the synthesis of ether, another doctor went further in his study. Paracelsus, who had German-Swiss roots, was an adherent of alternative medicine for those times, rejecting all the teachings of the Middle Ages. He tested the ether on chickens and concluded that gas has a soporific effect on birds.
Also, using experiments on animals, the doctor discovered the analgesic properties of ether. Its discovery was the beginning of an “arms race” in modern means of anesthesia and the use of medical chemistry for their development.
6
Nitrous oxide
When you laugh in the dental chair under the influence of “laughing” gas, be sure to thank Joseph Priestley, who was born in 1733 in the UK. This scientist and politician was the first to find this substance.
In his work studying various types of gases, in six volumes he described the actions of about 10 species, which he himself found. True, some scholars argue whether Priestley was really the first to identify oxygen. While experimenting with nitrous oxide, at the beginning of the 19th century, the British chemist Humphrey Davy discovered that breathing gas into his lungs makes him laugh heartily. The doctor studied its analgesic effect in animals, although the works were not performed in medicine at that time.
After 20 years, American Samuel Cooley injured while under the influence of nitrogen. However, he practically did not feel pain, proving a theory of its analgesic properties. Since then, nitrous oxide has become the primary means of anesthesia for many years to come.
Well, if you want to have a good laugh, we have a suitable article for this. We present you cool photos that seem to be mounted, although there is no processing in them.
7
Chloroform
Invented in 1831, chloroform revolutionized anesthesia. He was simultaneously and independently found by the Frenchman Eugene Subeirand and the American Samuel Guthrie. The narcotic effect of this drug was so strong that it caused patients to lose consciousness.
The first person to "try on" the effect of chloroform was James Simpson, the event occurred on November 4, 1847, which can be called a starting point for the start of its use for medicine.
There were some difficulties: out of every 3 thousand patients, one died from the effects of the drug. But who did it stop? The popularity of painkillers in the Victorian era was so high that Queen Victoria herself was exposed to chloroform during childbirth. After that, the demand for the drug peaked in the UK and the USA.
8
Morphine
The removal of morphine from opium occurred in 1804, however, its use for a long time was impractical. The fact is that experiments on animals almost always ended in death, until the discoverer of the substance Friedrich Serturner began to use it on himself, significantly reducing the dose.
Use for medical purposes and the beginning of large-scale production of morphine is obliged to the invention of hypodermic needles. It was not long before the doctors discovered that the substance was addictive, especially to retired soldiers.
Dependence on morphine was called the “army disease”, limiting its use at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. Nevertheless, it is not subject to prohibition and is still used in medicine.
9
Heroin
The first to release heroin as a painkiller were German pharmacists from Bayer in 1895, although it was withdrawn from morphine more than twenty years before. Heroin was not found any use until Felix Hoffman discovered its medical usefulness.
Problems with heroin began 25 years later, when in America alone about 200,000 people "hooked" on him. As a result, the substance was banned before many well-known narcotic drugs, such as LSD or cocaine. By that time, the use of heroin was carried out mainly underground, which only added to its popularity. Heroin is in demand in our time, curing both physical and emotional pain.
10
Nowadays
After the removal of heroin, many other opioid substances were found that caused a kind of “epidemic”. Opium poppy is no longer the basis for the production of certain anesthetics, such as ketamine and other substances. Anesthesiology does not stand still, developing and offering mankind the latest drugs that completely relieve pain during operations and the postoperative period. However, opium has long remained the basis for the manufacture of painkillers.
Such successes make us feel safe, because deaths due to the use of anesthetics have significantly decreased. If the invented chloroform sent one of 3,000 patients to the morgue from the operating table, then by 1980 the death rate from anesthesia was 1 in 5,000, and at the end of the 20th century, the rates became 1 victim to 200,000-300,000 patients.
The safety of the operating procedure has increased many times, who would have thought about it while using beer or opium. Nevertheless, the achievements of our ancestors still remain fundamental in the manufacture of drugs for anesthesia.