Statements, supported by evidence, of Wm. T.G. Morton, M.D., on his claim to the discovery of the anaesthetic properties of ether : submitted to the honorable the Select Committee appointed by the Senate of the United States, 32d Congress, 2d session, January 21, 1853 / presented by Mr. Davis of Massachusetts, and referred to the Select Committee to whom had been referred the petition of sundry physicians of Boston and vicinity, in support of the claim of W.T.G. Morton, M.D., for the discovery of etherization.
- William T. G. Morton
- Date:
- 1853
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: Statements, supported by evidence, of Wm. T.G. Morton, M.D., on his claim to the discovery of the anaesthetic properties of ether : submitted to the honorable the Select Committee appointed by the Senate of the United States, 32d Congress, 2d session, January 21, 1853 / presented by Mr. Davis of Massachusetts, and referred to the Select Committee to whom had been referred the petition of sundry physicians of Boston and vicinity, in support of the claim of W.T.G. Morton, M.D., for the discovery of etherization. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by the National Library of Medicine (U.S.), through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the National Library of Medicine (U.S.)
![in the hands oi sucli a man as he had represented and still repre- sents Dr. Morton to be? A careful examination of the above detailed acts and conver- sations of the parties, down to the 27th of October, about which it would seem to your committee there could be no doubt, renders it clear, almost to demonstration, that neither Dr. J ckson nor Dr. - rton, nor any of those who had \*]ih aided in the ope- ration, supposed that Dr. Jackson was entitled to the merit of this discovery, or any oth it of having communicated important information to Dr. Morton ; a ce the conduct of the parties further, this opinion is but coi On the 7th of November, aci by Rr. Hay ward, in the-hospital, the pa ler the in- fluence of sulphuric i d by Dr. Morton. Dr. Warren beiu '. Jackson that he suggested the use of. ether to Dr. Morton, invited him to attend and ad- minister the ether. He declined, for two reaso that he ' of town; the other, that he ccftild not do so con- sistently with his ments with Dr. the first capital operation, under the influence of ether, was successfully performed, Dr. Jackson not yet thinking fit to attend. But in a See testi- communication published in the Boston Daily Advertiser, of March mony of \&\y 1847, he says: 'I was desirous of testi] ther in a c; HaywanL ^ operation, and Dr. Warren politely consented to have the trial made ; and its results proved entirely satisfactory, an amputation having been performed, under the influence of the tthereal vapor, without giving any pain to the patient.' It strikes the mind with some surprise that Dr. Jackson should claim this operation as an experiment made by him at his request, and to satisfy himself of the efficacy of the 'ethereal vapor in a capital operation, when the only connexion which he had with tin ion was to de- le attending it when specially invited. Indeed, so entirely did he omit to inform himself en the subject of this experiment, which he declares to be his, that, in the above communication, he names Dr.. Warren as the surgeon who performed the operation, which was, in fact, performed by Dr. Play ward. Another surgical operation was performed at the Bromfield House, on the 2lst of November, the ether again administered by Dr. Morton. Dr. Jackson was then present for the first time, on invitation, but merely as a spectator. On the 2d of January, 1847, an operation was performed in the hospital, when Dr. Jack- son attended, and brought with him a bag of oxygen <ras to re- lieve the patient from asphyxia, in case it should supervene. Nothing of the kind occurred, and the gas was not used. This is the first and only act of Dr. Jackson's made known to your committee, which implied that he had any duty to perform in the administration of the ether, or that he rested under any responsi- bility as to its effects.](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b21142695_0106.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
