Electrical anaesthesia : comprising a brief history of its discovery, a synopsis of experiments, also full directions for its application in surgical & dental operations / by W.G. Oliver.

  • Oliver, W. G.
Date:
1858
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Electrical anaesthesia : comprising a brief history of its discovery, a synopsis of experiments, also full directions for its application in surgical & dental operations / by W.G. Oliver. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the National Library of Medicine (U.S.), through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the National Library of Medicine (U.S.)

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    HISTORY OF THE DISCOVERY. It has always been a source of deep regret to me, that I could not, on all occasions, render the operation of extracting painless, and when the Morton Letheon was introduced to the profession I was in hopes—indeed felt confident—that a very great need was supplied, and was one among the first in this locality to purchase the right to use it. My experience was that of thousands, and after a few years' use, with great caution, was abandoned as too dangerous for anything but severe protracted surgical operations. During the summer of 1857, the idea crossed my mind that by the proper application of an electrical current, the pain incidental to Dental operations could be mitigated, if not entirely controlled. I owned a magneto electrical machine, and designed to make the experiment with it as soon as I could obtain it from a friend to whom I had lent it. He was a Cap- tain of a vessel, and was absent on a voyage. I must confess I was not very sanguine of success, notwithstanding the idea continually haunted me, for about eighteen months previous I had been called to extract some teeth at the house of a patient, who was under treftment for a nervous affection, and was taking a current daily from a mag- neto Electric Machine, as a remedial measure. The operation proved difficult and painful, and his medical adviser (who was present) pre- scribed a current through a sponge applied to the face, after each tooth was extracted, and I really could not perceive that any benefit was derived, and the patient told me subsequently that if he had been aware of the operation being so painful he never would have submit- ted to it. At length the apparatus was obtained from my friend, and put in order for experiments. We attached the forceps first to one pole of the battery then the other, and tried the effect upon our own teeth, (brother and self,) and found that the current vas much more agreea- ble when the instrument was attached to the negative, for when at- tached to the positive it gave a disagreeable thumping sensation. We