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.)
![graver surgical operations, and which of themselves often prove fatal. It dispels the fear of pain, which formerly prevented many from submitting to an operation, or induce them to defer it until too late. It enables the surgeon, also, to operate more coolly and effectually, undisturbed by the cries and struggles of the patient, which sometimes unnerve the steadiest hand, and render abortive Ihe best directed efforts. The medal of the first class, awarded to you by the ' Medical Institute' of Paris, evinces the high estimation entertained in that centre of medical science and intelligence, of the services you have rendered to humanity. It is earnestly hoped that our Government, with a similar appreciation of this great acquisition to medical science, will stamp their sense of its importance, by a substantial acknowledgment which, while it encourages the philanthropist in his efforts to meliorate the condition of his fellow men, will remunerate you in some measure for the toil and vexation attendant on your struggle for success. Respectfully your obedient servant, THO. HARRIS, Chief of the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery. Mr. Wm. T. G. Morton, M. D., Washington:' [Extracts.] Navy Department, Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, March 11, 1852. I would state, however, that in the single capital operation in which the etherial inhalation was employed by me, it was at- tended with the happiest results, and impiessed me with such a forcible conviction of its importance, that I deem it indispensa- ble, as a general rule, in all serious surgical cases requiring the use of the knife. Its application in general practice is becoming daily and more enlarged, as its peculiar influence over the nervous system and ' perceptive' powers is developed ; and the physician or surgeon who banishes it from his pharmacopseia, is neglecting one of the most potent weapons presented for his use, since the great dis- covery of Jenner. Upon the whole I have no hesitation in expressing the opinion that this discovery, when divested of the prejudices attending in some minds the introduction of all novelties, and when the acci- dents- inseparable from its abuse or ignorant application, are ascribed to their proper causes, will take its rank among the most](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b21142695_0145.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
