Minutes of evidence relating to anaesthetics : at the Home Office, Whitehall.

  • Departmental Committee on Coroners.
Date:
1910
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Minutes of evidence relating to anaesthetics : at the Home Office, Whitehall. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The University of Glasgow Library. The original may be consulted at The University of Glasgow Library.

    7/218 (page 3)
    1191. Sir Malcolm Morris.—You would put ether second' —Yes. 1192. Chairman.—Has ether any specific action on the heart ?—It is a great stimulant; in fact, if ether be given on a mask with plenty of air, I should say that it is as safe as nitrous oxide. Then, next to ether, I should put mixtures of chloroform and ether which are rich in ether, the safety being in proportion to the percentage of ether. 1193. And then what next ?—Then we should come perhaps to ethyl-chloride, and then to chloroform itself. I think that would roughly indicate the relative dangers of anaesthetics themselves. 1194. If one ansesthetic is somewhat safer than another, in what cases do you prefer one to another ?—To take nitrous oxide as an example, nitrous oxide is, generally speaking, the safest anaesthetic; but there are certain conditions in which nitrous oxide, per se, given without any air or oxygen, would be more hazardous than chloroform. 1195. To the life of the patient ?—To the life of the patient; so that a great deal depends upon the type of individual to whom the nitrous oxide is given. 1196. —Apart from the mere question of possible safety, does the nature of the operation determine the anesthetic at all ? Yes, very largely. There are a great many operations in which nitrous oxide would be absolutely out of court altogether. 1197. You could not keep up the anassthesia long enough • —No ; the anaesthesia is not sufficiently deep for a large number of modern surgical operations. But when nitrous oxide is given with air or with oxygen in properly regulated proportions, then It can under certain conditions be given continuously Perfectly pure nitrous oxide, if given so that no air whatever gains access to the lungs while it is being inhaled, is not respirable for more than about one minute. 1198. That is to say, death would result ?—Yes. 1199. Just as if it were carbon monoxide ?—Not as raoidlv perhaps, as that, but as rapidly as if it were pure nitrogen At the end of that time breathing comes to a standstill, and there is IfPTl ,f ' but if certain percentages of oxygen are added to the nitrous oxide, then, in proportion to the amount of oxygen that nitrous oxide may be made respirable. A doe for example, has been kept breathing a mixture of nitrous oxide with 15 per cent of oxygen for three consecutive days, showing how extremely safe nitrous oxide must be, provided that it is gilen i^ ^Z. ^ 2 ^° P'°^^^ aphyxia-in other words thlt it t ^ 12m %fp^M^'' P^-oportion of oxygen to keep up respirati^an 1200. Sir Malcolm MoRRis.-Oxygen or air ?—Oxveen is preferable to air, because the nitrogen in air acts as a St so that one loses some of the anesthetic factor ^^^uent, so