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  • © 2014

The Wondrous Story of Anesthesia

  • Edited and written by an international “who’s who” of more than 100 authors, including anesthesiologists, nurse anesthetists, bench scientists, and representatives of industry
  • One of a few texts providing a comprehensive history of anesthesia
  • Unique in its focus on the people and events that shaped the specialty around the world

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Table of contents (67 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xviii
  2. The Woven Story of Anesthesia: Eras, Exemplars, and Looking Forward

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1
    2. History to 1798

      • Edmond I Eger II, Lawrence J. Saidman, Rod N. Westhorpe
      Pages 3-10
    3. The Half Century Before Ether Day

      • Edmond I Eger II, Rod N. Westhorpe, Lawrence J. Saidman
      Pages 11-16
    4. 1844–1846: The Discovery and Demonstration of Anesthesia

      • Edmond I Eger II, Lawrence J. Saidman, Rod N. Westhorpe
      Pages 17-26
    5. 1846–1860: Following the Discovery of Anesthesia

      • Edmond I Eger II, Rod N. Westhorpe, Lawrence J. Saidman
      Pages 27-35
    6. 1860–1910: The Specialty of Anesthesia Develops Slowly

      • Edmond I Eger II, Lawrence J. Saidman, Rod N. Westhorpe
      Pages 37-49
    7. 1910–1950: Anesthesia Before, During, and After Two World Wars

      • Edmond I Eger II, Rod N. Westhorpe, Lawrence J. Saidman
      Pages 51-70
    8. History Reflected in the Evolving Approaches to Anesthesia for a Patient Undergoing Cholecystectomy

      • Lawrence J. Saidman, Rod N. Westhorpe, Edmond I Eger II
      Pages 71-75
    9. Major Anesthetic Themes in the 1950s

      • Edmond I Eger II, Lawrence J. Saidman, Rod N. Westhorpe
      Pages 77-91
    10. Major Anesthetic Themes in the 1960s

      • Lawrence J. Saidman, Rod N. Westhorpe, Edmond I Eger II
      Pages 93-104
    11. Major Anesthetic Themes in the 1970s

      • Rod N. Westhorpe, Lawrence j. Saidman, Edmond I Eger II
      Pages 105-118
    12. Major Anesthetic Themes in the 1980s

      • Rod N. Westhorpe, Lawrence J. Saidman, Edmond I Eger II
      Pages 119-130
    13. Significant Developments in the 1990s

      • Edmond I Eger II, Rod N. Westhorpe, Lawrence J. Saidman
      Pages 131-138
    14. Major Anesthesia-Related Events in the 2000s and Beyond

      • Lawrence J. Saidman, Rod N. Westhorpe, Edmond I Eger II
      Pages 139-148
    15. Predicting the Future

      • Lawrence J. Saidman, Rod N. Westhorpe, Edmond I Eger II
      Pages 149-160
  3. Individual Stories

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 161-161
    2. Surgery Before and After the Discovery of Anesthesia

      • William Silen, Elizabeth A. M. Frost
      Pages 163-183
    3. A History of Women in American Anesthesiology

      • Selma Harrison Calmes
      Pages 185-203
    4. Anesthesia, Anesthesiologists and Modern Medical Ethics

      • Stephen H. Jackson, Gail Van Norman
      Pages 205-218

About this book

Edited and written by an international "who's who" of more than 100 authors, including anesthesiologists, nurse anesthetists, bench scientists, a surgeon, and representatives of industry, this text provides a comprehensive history of anesthesia, unique in its focus on the people and events that shaped the specialty around the world, particularly during the past 70 years when anesthesia emerged from empiricism and developed into a science-based practice.  

Reviews

From the reviews:

“An amazing, absolutely unique tome…The Wondrous Story of Anesthesia does indeed have biblical connotations, even having an ‘Old’ and a ‘New’ testament.  The former details the history of anaesthesia…from its earliest beginnings, and is written by its three internationally renowned editors…All subspecialties are included…so we have the development of pain management (Carr and Cousins), of neuroanesthesia (Frost), paediatric anesthesia (Gregory), critical care (Takala), and many, many more…an excellent achievement.”  (J.M. Hunter, British Journal of Anaesthesia, June, 2014)   

 

“The book will appeal greatly not only to those who have a major interest in how anaesthesia was discovered and evolved, but as a most comprehensive reference work for anyone involved with or researching anaesthesia. Every teaching hospital, university or medical school library would be incomplete without this volume and every trainee shouldbe made aware of its knowledge value.”  (J.A. Crowhurst, Anaesthesia and Intensive Care, July, 2014)    

 

“Delves into the fascinating discovery, development, and use of various anesthetic agents down through the ages and throughout the world…useful and valuable to librarians, educators, historians, clinicians, and researchers…[The] book is beautifully formatted with colorful textboxes, good quality illustrations, and well-designed charts and tables...The 100 contributors are noted anesthesiologists, nurse anesthetists, clinicians, researchers, and health practitioners from North America, South America, Europe, Scandinavia, Middle East, Australasia and Oceania, and Asia…Unique in its scope and authority.”  (Elizabeth Connor, Doody’s Book Reviews, May, 2014)

 

“Worth reading by any individual with a background in anesthesia. History of medicine aficionados in particular will truly enjoy this book. It is definitely well writtenand evident that the editors and authors put a great deal of work into this project. They should be proud of their achievement. Every medical library should have a copy of this book as should every anesthesia department.” (Brendan T. Finucane, Canadian Journal of Anesthesia/Journal canadien d'anesthésie, Vol. 61, June, 2014)

 

“A book waited for by all anesthesiologists, ‘The wondrous story of anesthesia’…describes the evolution of anesthesia…[and] is a ‘wondrous’ book for people working in anesthesia-related fields.” (Koh Shingu, Journal of Anesthesia, March, 2014)

      

Editors and Affiliations

  • Department of Anesthesia and Perioperative Care, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, USA

    Edmond I Eger II

  • Departments of Anesthesia, Stanford University, Stanford, USA

    Lawrence J. Saidman

  • Geoffrey Kaye Museum of Anaesthetic History, Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists, Melbourne, Australia

    Rod N. Westhorpe

About the editors

Edmond I Eger II, MD 

Emeritus Professor, Department of Anesthesia and Perioperative Care             

University of California, San Francisco

San Francisco, CA, USA

Lawrence J. Saidman, MD

Emeritus Professor

Departments of Anesthesia

Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA and

University of California, San Diego, CA, USA

Rod Westhorpe, OAM, MB, BS, FRCA, FANZCA

Former Honorary Curator, Geoffrey Kaye Museum of Anaesthetic History

Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists;

Melbourne, Australia

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: The Wondrous Story of Anesthesia

  • Editors: Edmond I Eger II, Lawrence J. Saidman, Rod N. Westhorpe

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-8441-7

  • Publisher: Springer New York, NY

  • eBook Packages: Medicine, Medicine (R0)

  • Copyright Information: Edmond I Eger, MD 2014

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-4614-8440-0

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-1-4939-2351-9

  • eBook ISBN: 978-1-4614-8441-7

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XVIII, 944

  • Topics: Anesthesiology, Pain Medicine, Surgery, History of Medicine, Nursing

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 189.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book USD 249.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access