University of Maryland Baltimore Dental School - Mirror Yearbook (Baltimore, MD)

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Jj n nbuti To William T. G. Morton belongs the honor and the credit for introducing sulphuric ether as an effective anesthetizing agent in cases re- quiring operative surgery. Fate seems to have assigned him to a set of circumstances in which he was exposed to all the factors relating to the current status of anesthesia, and nature had pro- vided him with those essential qualities of mind and heart that led him inevitably to exploit these factors in the interest of humanity. Morton began the study of dentistry under the tutelage of Dr. Horace Wells and, for a short period of time, was associated with him in a partnership dental practice in Boston. He studied medicine in the office of Dr. Charles Thomas Jackson, a chemist of unusual ability, who had ex- perimented with the exhilarating and anesthetic properties of sulphuric ether. It is a notable fact that Morton approached his task by way of the experimental method. Morton began by experimenting on animals in order to determine the action of the particular agent on the living organism. Having by this method proved both the efficacy and safety of sul- phuric ether in producing anesthesia he applied it to use in operative surgery. On September 30, 1846, he administered ether to a patient for the purpose of extracting a difficult tooth. Subsequently, he made other tests; and finally, on October 16, 1846, Dr. Morton adminis- tered ether vapor to a patient in the Massachusetts General Hospital in preparation for a surgi- cal operation. The patient manifested no signs of pain, and on October 17, the experiment was repeated with equally favorable results. As a consequence of these successful tests Dr. Morton was proclaimed by the medical profession and the people of Boston as the discoverer of anes- thesia. : When Morton ' s experiment with ether proved successful he claimed the discovery of a new agent that would produce anesthesia; he tried to hide its identity from everyone, including Dr. J. C. Warren, the surgeon, and he proceeded promptly to patent the agent under the trade name, Letheoii. However, when the true nature of the agent became known, Morton conceded that he had received assistance in his experiments with ether vapor from Dr. Jackson and freely agreed to share with him the honor and emoluments occurring from the discovery. There can be no doubt of Morton ' s right to the claim that he was the first to administer ether for the definite purpose of producing complete insensibility to physical pain and that the popularization of surgical anesthesia and its world-wide acceptance by science and medicine stemmed from his successful demonstration of it at the Massachusetts General Hospital. And there can be no question of the fact that from his determined, courageous efi orts to convince the world of the safety and efficacy of an agent that he had tested and found efl ' ective in producing complete insensibility to pain, came directly one of the greatest blessings that has ever been con- ferred on the human race. Any subsequent errors of judgment on his part with respect to ma- terial rewards and benefits should be forgotten or looked upon with pity in the light of the posi- tive values of the rich contribution he made to humanity. -( 8 y