http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2009/06/
07/the_day_pain_died_what_really_happened_during_the_most_
famous_moment_in_boston_medicine/?page=full One the first use of anesthetic in an operating room, and the the moral and medical environment of the time: “Before 1846, the vast majority of religious and medical opinion held that pain was inseparable from sensation in general, and thus from life itself. ... In the early 19th century, doctors interested in the pain-relieving properties of ether and nitrous oxide were characterized as cranks and profiteers. The case against them was not merely practical, but moral: They were seen as seeking to exploit their patients’ base and cowardly instincts. Furthermore, by whipping up the fear of operations, they were frightening others away from surgery and damaging public health. ... Most doctors still believed it was only pain that kept patients alive through the trauma of operations. System failure due to shock was a frequent cause of death during surgery, and the loss of sensation was believed to make it more likely. A screaming patient, however tormented, had a better prognosis than a limp and lifeless one.” 14:15
Entry Posted June 8, 2009
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uglychart.com: a blog about stocks (www.uglychart.com):
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Jacob Grier (www.jacobgrier.com):
… Boumediene: 2, Bush: 0Anesthesia: Culture catches up with chemistryCell phones behind bars Cyclists up, injuries down Choosing streets over shelter Vid: Matthew Lesko on free government money (Sorry for the late links, forgot to hit “publish” last night.) …
News Inventory (www.newsinventory.com):
… explored. As far back as 1525, the Renaissance physician Paracelsus had recorded that it made chickens “fall asleep, but wake up again after some time without any bad effect,” and that it “extinguishes pain” for the duration.source …
Michael Alan Miller (www.michaelalanmiller.com):
… This is an interesting articlein itself, but it re-ignited a spark of something I’ve been pondering for a while: namely, what moral precepts and imperatives do we take as canonical today, but that will seem absolutely insane to later societies? Or, as many moral imperatives from the past seem to …
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