Pain

Question 1

What were the problems affecting surgery in the 1840s?

Answer 1

• Crowds
• Dirty
• No pain relief
• Infection

Question 2

Who discovered nitrous oxide?

Answer 2

Humphrey Davey, 1799

Question 3

What did nitrous oxide do?

Answer 3

Inhaling the laughing gas made you LESS aware of pain
However
It did not knock you out

Question 4

Who discovered ether?

Answer 4

John Collins-Warren + Robert Liston 1846

Question 5

What were the benefits of ether?

Answer 5

The effects of ether were more long lasting than nitrous oxide
It produced a deep sleep that could last for days

Question 6

What were the limitations of ether?

Answer 6

It made patients cough and vomit
Heavy bottles
Highly flammable -> could cause explosions in surgery

Overall, difficult working conditions for surgeons due to coughing of patient

Question 7

Who discovered chloroform in 1847?

Answer 7

James Simpson

Question 8

What did John Snow invent?

Answer 8

The chloroform inhaler in 1847

Question 9

What were the benefits of chloroform?

Answer 9

Chloroform knocked out patients effectively so they could complete more complex surgeries

Question 10

Why was the chloroform inhaler important?

Answer 10

The wrong dosage of chloroform could kill you, the inhaler allowed the dosage to be regulated

Question 11

Who was James Simpson as a person?

Answer 11

Simpson was a professor of midwifery at Edinburgh university and he wanted to find a way to relief pain during childbirth
He disliked ether due to its flammability, smell, and coughing
He hosted dinner parties to test out drugs

Question 12

Why was 1847 - 67 known as the Black Period Of Surgery?

Answer 12

Chloroform enabled more complex surgeries, which meant infections were carried deeper into the body
There was also more blood loss
Extremely high death rate due to infection

Question 13

Why did people oppose Simpson and his discovery?

Answer 13

Black period of surgery
Speed
Hannah Greener 
Dosage
Religion

Question 14

Why did surgical speed cause opposition to Simpson?

Answer 14

Speed was something many surgeons prided themselves on / had become famous for
With anaesthetics, speed was no longer necessary

Question 15

Who died in 1848 due to a misdosage of chloroform?

Answer 15

Hannah Greener died in 1848 after having surgery to remove a toenail
She died due to the wrong amount of chloroform being used
This caused surgeons to be afraid of using chloroform

Question 16

Why did the lack of knowledge about chloroform cause opposition to Simpson?

Answer 16

Chloroform was untested and the effects of different dosage on different patients was unknown
Too much could cause death, too little would not work
Long term side effects were also unknown

Question 17

How did religion cause trouble for chloroform?

Answer 17

‘Pain is inflicted by god’
Some religious people thought pain was a direct blessing from god and therefore anaesthetics were perverting this
It was also a belief that the sorrow and pain of child birth was character building for women

Question 18

Who was Robert Liston?

Answer 18

Robert Liston was an acclaimed surgeon in the 1800s due to his incredible speed
He could amputate a leg in 2.5 minutes
He died in 1847