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.)
![Isi December, 1846. The advantage i Ltici: - f tl e vapor of ethsr has been completely established in this country, and the agent has been used with great success at the Massachusetts General Hos- pital. On this point Mr. Velpeau made the following remarks : The secret contained in the note which has been read is no longer a secret; the medical journals published in America and England have divulged it in the months of November and De- cember. A letter from Dr. Warren, of Boston, communicated the information to me more than one month ago ; and Dr. Willis Fisher, of the same city, proposed that I should try its effects at La Charite towards the middle of last December. The present object of quoting these letters is to show the ac- count which Dr. Jackson then gave of his experiment in 1841—'42. It, in truth, goes no further than prior experiments had made fa- miliar to the medical faculty. The Edinburg Medical Journal of April 1st, 1847, speaking of it, says: In the administration of ether vapor there is, therefore, noth- ing new. Its narcotic and anodyne effects have been long well known to experienced and well-informed observers. The applica- tion of ether vapor, nevertheless, as an anodyne previous to surgical operations, suggested a mode of exhibition which, besides beiny; new, has the merit of being- more efficient than the methods in ordinary cases. Dr. Jackson's trial in 1841-542, as stated by him in the above letter, was a mere application of its well-known narcotic and ano- dyne properties. In a paper published by Dr. Jackson in the Boston Daily Advertiser of March 1st, 1847, he adds to the state- ment in his letter to M. Elie de Beaumont but one distinct fact— relief from the pain of his catarrh during the effect of the inha- lation of the vapor of sulphuric ether, and its return presently afterwards. The same fact is stated as having occurred in Dr. Thornton's practice, first published in 1795-'9G. In a letter written by Dr. Jackson to Dr. Martin Gay, dated May ], 1847, he professes to give an account of his experi- ments and observations made several years ago on the inhalation of the vapor of pure sulphuric ether. He states his experiments as follows : The first: I moistened a cloth and laid it over my mouth and nostrils, and laid myself back in a rocking chair, and inhaled the vapor, noticing its effects on the system. The first impression was that of coolness, then a sensation of warmth and exhilaration, with a](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b21142695_0091.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
