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.)
![I was obliged to apply it several times, but in the end the sensi- bility seemed to be removed, and the tooth is now, to my knowl- edge, in a useful condition. About this time the wife and aunt of Dr. Jackson were under my treatment for dental purposes, and it was necessary to extract teeth in each case, the operation being painful and the ladies showing an unusual degree of sensitiveness. The last named lady, in particular, before the extracting of each tooth, remained several hours in the operating chair, unable to summon courage to endure the operation, and begging to be mesmerized, or that I would give her something to make her insensible. Dr. Jackson was present and made efforts to encourage the lady, but did not suggest any mode of producing insensibility. His suggestions had not gone beyond the direct application &f ether, in the same manner that laudanum and other narcotics have always hem ap- plied to sensitive teeth. The successful application L had made of the ether in destroy- ing the sensibility of a- tooth, together with what Dr. Jackson told me of its effects when inhaled by the students at college, awakened my attention, and having free access to Dr. Jackson's books, I began to read on the subject of itseffects upon the animal system. I became satisfied that there was nothing new or particularly dangerous in the inhaling of ether, that it had long been the toy of professors and students, known as a powerful anti-spasmodic, anodyne, and narcotic, capable of intoxicating and stupefying, when taken in sufficient quantity. I found that even the appa- ratus for inhaling it was described in some treatises, but in most eases it was described as inhaled from a saturated sponge or hand- kerchief. Having some of the ether left which Dr. Jackson had sent me, I inhaled it from a handkerchief, but there was not enough to produce a greater effect than exhilaration followed by head- ache. While investigating this subject ] was taken quite ill, and it being the middle of summer, I was advised by my physician to go into the country. i took with me from Dr. Jackson's library, and obtained in other ways, several books treating on this and other subjects. I spent two months at the residence of my father- iu-law, in Connecticut. While there I procured ether from the druggists, and made experiments upon birds and other animals, endeavoring to get them under the effects of inhalation from it. These experiments produced no satisfactory result, and theY being known among my friends, I was mortified and v< xed and bottled up the subjects where they remain to this day In the autumn I returned to Boston, and finding that my busi- ness, owing to its interruption, required my constant attention I was not able to pursue the investigation at that time In the course of the winter, (1844-'5) Dr. Horace Wells of Hartford, Connecticut, a dentist, and formerly my partner nme](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b21142695_0050.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
