Images of Paul S. Russell, MD Museum of Medical History and Innovation - Ether Dome
Paul S. Russell, MD Museum of Medical History and Innovation - Ether Dome and its collection
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The Russell Museum is dedicated to drawing connections between innovations spanning more than 200 years, from the hospital’s charter in 1811 to the present day. Visit us for an experience that will inform, inspire and engage. In 1844 Hartford dentist Horace Wells noticed the painkilling effects of nitrous oxide at an event where volunteers inhaled the gas and then stumbled around. Such affairs were known as “frolics.” Wells used nitrous oxide in his dental practice for the painless extraction of teeth. In 1845 he attempted to demonstrate his discovery in Boston. The test failed, probably because the dose was inadequate. Soundly ridiculed, Wells became deeply discouraged. 1847 B&W daguerreotype photo of an operation under ether with man on right placing hands on the legs of patient Operation performed under surgical anesthesia. Southworth and Hawes, 1847. Surgeon John Collins Warren is at right, with hands on patient's legs. Morton is at the head of the patient, holding the anesthetic apparatus. William T.G. Morton, a partner in Wells’s practice, learned the technique and began experimenting on his own. Morton’s interest in using the method for surgical anesthesia was inspired by Wells but he also benefited from conversations with Charles T. Jackson, a professor of chemistry at Harvard, who advised him to use a higher grade of sulfuric ether. Jackson seemed to know that the gas could be effective in surgery, but he made no effort to apply his knowledge. With the help of MGH surgeon Henry Jacob Bigelow, Morton persuaded MGH co-founder and surgeon John Collins Warren to allow him to try his technique on a surgical patient. The demonstration took place in the Ether Dome on October 16, 1846. The patient – a young printer named Gilbert Abbott, who had a vascular neck tumor – announced that he had felt a scratching sensation, but no pain. Warren turned to the observers and proclaimed; “Gentlemen, this is no humbug.” Bigelow immediately published an article.
ENPaul S. Russell, MD Museum of Medical History and Innovation
ENEther Dome
Science & Technology History & Anthropology Historic house
Paul S. Russell, MD Museum of Medical History and Innovation - Ether Dome
2 N Grove. St.
Bulfinch Building, 4th Floor
MA 02114 Boston
Massachusetts