Ombrédanne ether device
Place where the object is located
Museum for the History of Medicine, School of Medicine, A.U.Th., Thessaloniki, Greece
Story of the object
This is an Ombrédanne ether inhaler with its original box and description. The set is signed by Collin is dated around the 1930s. The Ombrédanne ether inhaler was created around 1907 as a safer alternative to previous anesthesiologic devices.
HISTORICAL USE
The discovery of anesthesia was one the most groundbreaking findings that changed medicine. Ether as an anesthetic agent was used for the first time in 1842 by Crawford Long, a simple general physician who had no means to inform the scientific world. On the contrary, William Thomas Green Morton, a dentist, used ether for general anesthesia in 1846, in the General Hospital of Massachusetts, in a surgery performed by John C. Warren. It should be noted that ether was suggested to Morton by Charles Jackson, a chemist, who demanded part of the fame. This dispute ended in a tragic way: Morton has led to bankruptcy while Jackson to madness. Ether though had an excruciating odor and caused irritation of the bronchi. Sir James Young Simpson, Professor of obstetrics in Edinburg, thought of using chloroform, whose anesthetic properties were just found by Marie Jean Pierre Flourens. In 1847 he announced the results of his use of chloroform in his practice to the Surgical Society of Edinburg. Church became an opponent to the use of anesthesia in obstetrics, which led Queen Victoria to take the decision to give birth to her eighth child under the influence of chloroform, ending thus, this long-lasting dispute.
RELATIVE LITERATURE
• Barry CT. 1961. The Ombredanne inhaler. Anaesthesia 16:2, pp. 184-7.
• Paul E., Paul C. (1939). A History Of Anaesthesia. The British Medical Journal, 1(4074), 248-248.
• An Unfinished Chapter In The History Of Anaesthesia. (1911). The British Medical Journal, 2(2656), 1434-1435.
• Hutcheon DE. Chloroform anesthesia and the Saville Kent murder in 1860. Am J Ther. 2010 Mar-Apr;17(2):226-31
• Caton D. John Snow's practice of obstetric anesthesia. Anesthesiology. 2000 Jan;92(1):247-52.
• Connor H, Connor T. Did the use of chloroform by Queen Victoria influence its acceptance in obstetric practice? Anaesthesia. 1996 Oct;51(10):955-7.
• Haridas RP, Bause GS. A Newly Discovered Manuscript of Charles T. Jackson, MD, on the Preparation and Administration of Anesthetics for Humans and Animals. J Anesth Hist. 2018 Jul;4(3):163-170.
• Yang QH, Alston TA. Charles T. Jackson and William T.G. Morton Patented the "Ethereal Solution of Opium" of Elton Romeo Smilie. J Anesth Hist. 2018 Apr;4(2):128-129.
When in use, a chloroform-soaked sponge was placed in the brass chamber at one end of the anaesthetic inhaler. The patient would inhale the vapours through the textile tube and brass mouth piece. Chloroform was a popular anaesthetic in use from the late 1840s onwards. It gradually began to replace ether, which could cause vomiting and lung problems. However, this trend was reversed when the potentially fatal toxicity of chloroform became apparent. The inhaler was made by Charrière, a surgical instrument maker in Paris, and was purchased from the Charrière, Collin and Gentile collection in 1978 when the company closed. maker: Charrière Place made: Paris, Ville de Paris, Île-de-France, France.
Ether was first used as an anaesthetic in 1846 during the removal of a tooth. The dentist was William Thomas Green Morton (1819-1868), an American. This inhaler is adapted from Morton’s original. Morton called his invention the ‘Letheon Inhaler’ to keep the anaesthetising agent, ether, a secret and to control who used it. Ether-soaked sponges were placed in the glass jar. Flexible rubber tubing connected the valve to the face mask so the patient could inhale the ether. The outlet valve has a glass tube attached so more ether can be put on the sponges if needed. maker: Weiss, John Place made: London, Greater London, England, United Kingdom
HISTORICAL USE
The discovery of anesthesia was one the most groundbreaking findings that changed medicine. Ether as an anesthetic agent was used for the first time in 1842 by Crawford Long, a simple general physician who had no means to inform the scientific world. On the contrary, William Thomas Green Morton, a dentist, used ether for general anesthesia in 1846, in the General Hospital of Massachusetts, in a surgery performed by John C. Warren. It should be noted that ether was suggested to Morton by Charles Jackson, a chemist, who demanded part of the fame. This dispute ended in a tragic way: Morton has led to bankruptcy while Jackson to madness. Ether though had an excruciating odor and caused irritation of the bronchi. Sir James Young Simpson, Professor of obstetrics in Edinburg, thought of using chloroform, whose anesthetic properties were just found by Marie Jean Pierre Flourens. In 1847 he announced the results of his use of chloroform in his practice to the Surgical Society of Edinburg. Church became an opponent to the use of anesthesia in obstetrics, which led Queen Victoria to take the decision to give birth to her eighth child under the influence of chloroform, ending thus, this long-lasting dispute.
RELATIVE LITERATURE
• Barry CT. 1961. The Ombredanne inhaler. Anaesthesia 16:2, pp. 184-7.
• Paul E., Paul C. (1939). A History Of Anaesthesia. The British Medical Journal, 1(4074), 248-248.
• An Unfinished Chapter In The History Of Anaesthesia. (1911). The British Medical Journal, 2(2656), 1434-1435.
• Hutcheon DE. Chloroform anesthesia and the Saville Kent murder in 1860. Am J Ther. 2010 Mar-Apr;17(2):226-31
• Caton D. John Snow's practice of obstetric anesthesia. Anesthesiology. 2000 Jan;92(1):247-52.
• Connor H, Connor T. Did the use of chloroform by Queen Victoria influence its acceptance in obstetric practice? Anaesthesia. 1996 Oct;51(10):955-7.
• Haridas RP, Bause GS. A Newly Discovered Manuscript of Charles T. Jackson, MD, on the Preparation and Administration of Anesthetics for Humans and Animals. J Anesth Hist. 2018 Jul;4(3):163-170.
• Yang QH, Alston TA. Charles T. Jackson and William T.G. Morton Patented the "Ethereal Solution of Opium" of Elton Romeo Smilie. J Anesth Hist. 2018 Apr;4(2):128-129.
When in use, a chloroform-soaked sponge was placed in the brass chamber at one end of the anaesthetic inhaler. The patient would inhale the vapours through the textile tube and brass mouth piece. Chloroform was a popular anaesthetic in use from the late 1840s onwards. It gradually began to replace ether, which could cause vomiting and lung problems. However, this trend was reversed when the potentially fatal toxicity of chloroform became apparent. The inhaler was made by Charrière, a surgical instrument maker in Paris, and was purchased from the Charrière, Collin and Gentile collection in 1978 when the company closed. maker: Charrière Place made: Paris, Ville de Paris, Île-de-France, France.
Ether was first used as an anaesthetic in 1846 during the removal of a tooth. The dentist was William Thomas Green Morton (1819-1868), an American. This inhaler is adapted from Morton’s original. Morton called his invention the ‘Letheon Inhaler’ to keep the anaesthetising agent, ether, a secret and to control who used it. Ether-soaked sponges were placed in the glass jar. Flexible rubber tubing connected the valve to the face mask so the patient could inhale the ether. The outlet valve has a glass tube attached so more ether can be put on the sponges if needed. maker: Weiss, John Place made: London, Greater London, England, United Kingdom
Unit of the Educational Material connected (5 - 1)
Label
The item was donated to the Museum for the History of Medicine, AUTH, by Emeritus Professor Dr. A. Dimitriadou, from the collection of items of Dr. Ioannis Kalachanis.
