The history of Anaesthesia

Before the 1840's, if someone needed an operation they needed to be held down by a group of strong men.

That all changed in 1847, when doctors discovered an anaesthetic that could render patients unconscious. It revolutionised surgery.

Painting by Ernest Board of the first use of general anaesthetic in 1846 by the dental surgeon W.T.G. Morton.

The Agnew Clinic, 1889, by Thomas Eakins, showing the tiered arrangement of observers watching the operation

Re-enactment of the first public demonstration of general anesthesia by William T. G. Morton on October 16, 1846 in the Ether Dome at Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston

Ether in amputation surgery (photo taken between 1855 and 1860)

Professor Jamie Sleigh is from the Department of Anaesthesia of the Waikato Clinical School has been undertaking research into exactly how general anaesthetics affect the brain to cause unconsciousness, and says there is still a lot we don't know.