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Under the Ether: Anesthesia Through the Centuries Part 1

·48 min·3 clips

At Massachusetts General Hospital, Gilbert Abbott inhaled ether and John Collins Warren said, 'This is no humbug.'

1. Sink or Swim Podcast focuses on the history of anesthesia, with Sheena framing pain-free surgery as the real miracle behind modern operations. 2. Sheena identifies herself as a fourth-year medical student from NSUMD and uses that role to guide the historical survey. 3. The episode asks why ether and nitrous oxide existed for centuries before surgeons finally used them to stop pain. 4. Ancient evidence includes 10,000 BCE trepanation skulls, Egyptian tracheotomies, tumor surgery, aneurysm work, and Roman cataract extractions and amputations. 5. Sheena says early pain control included pressure, ice, carotid compression around 400 BCE, and blows to the jaw or skull. 6. The episode names Sumerian ethanol, opium poppy, and the Inca practice of spitting cocaine-laced saliva into wounds. 7. Chinese practice appears through Huotou and wine-containing cannabis powder for analgesia. 8. Mandragora is described as a nightshade-derived sedative used in Greece and Italy, including pillows stuffed with the plant and wine of mandragora. 9. Middle Ages Europe appears through Dwelle, a mixture of alcohol, opium, Bryony, hemlock, henbane, mandragora, vinegar, lettuce, and human bile. 10. The Islamic Golden Age section covers Theoderic's recipe, a drug-impregnated sponge inhaled before surgery, plus scopolamine for amnesia. 11. The episode highlights Raymond Lully's 1275 ether, Valerius Cordius' 1540 ether, and Paracelsus testing ether and alcohol on dogs and chickens. 12. John Batista Porta's 1597 writing in Natural Magic is presented as another early notice of ether's anesthetic potential. 13. Christopher Wren's 1656 injections of wine and opium into dogs are described as early IV anesthesia experiments. 14. Joseph Priestley and Humphrey Davy reappear through nitrous oxide, with Davy calling it 'laughing gas' after noticing sleepiness and silliness. 15. Charles de la Condamine, Benjamin Brody, and the poison curare enter the story as a possible paralytic that stopped breathing while the heart kept beating. 16. Franz Mesmer's magnets and hypnosis are presented as an inconsistent detour before medicine returned to drugs and devices. 17. The episode then explains how Henry Hill Hickman, William Edward Clark, Horace Wells, and William Morton each reached different stages of ether and nitrous oxide use. 18. The tone is conversational and comedic, with Sheena making repeated asides about 'human bile,' 'no humbug,' and 'don't be Raymond Lully.' 19. Listeners interested in medical history, surgery, or the origins of anesthesia would likely enjoy this episode. 20. Listeners who want a short, strictly clinical overview may skip it.

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