The discovery of anesthesia is a major advancement of modern medicine. Anesthesia has been in existence since ancient times. In the last decades, particularly in the 19 th century, there were immense advancements in clinical monitoring and clinical practice development. The two factors that led to advancement of anesthesia were political science and social chaos in America (Dote, 2018). It has helped in the improvement of the safety and care of patients while undergoing surgeries, in the ICUs, and the ambulatory patients.
Joseph Priestley discovered nitrous oxide, nitric oxide, ammonia, hydrogen chloride, and oxygen. This intrigued interest in the European Scientific department. Thomas Beddoes, a teacher of medicine founded the Pneumatic Institution for inhalation gas therapy in 1798 (Kumar, 2017) . He was interested in making advancements in treatment of diseases such as asthma and tuberculosis. Therefore, he employed Humphry Davy to assist in the manufacture of the gases. Davy discovered the anesthetic properties of nitrous oxide, that it could be used to relieve pain during surgery. By the late 1830s, his research had become widely recognized and people were asked to inhale nitrous oxide to identify its mind-altering properties. Lecturers held meetings referred to as ether frolics that were used to practice Davy’s work.
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Carbon dioxide was also discovered for its use for anesthetic purposes. In the 1820s, Henry Hill Hickman researched on the use of Carbon dioxide by using an animal where he would determine the effects of the gas through amputation of its limbs. His work was criticized, but recently anesthetics have reappraised his work and are using carbon dioxide. Thus, he is recognized as one of the fathers of anesthesia medication. In 1842, Clarke, a medical student of Berkshire Medical College, administered an inhaled anesthetic in performing a surgical procedure of dental extraction. He was the first to administer an inhaled anesthetic. In 1847, James Young Simpson, an obstetrician, discovered the use of chloroform for anesthetic practice. However, it was abandoned. In 1880, surgeon William Macewen reported on the use of orotracheal intubation and described that it could be used with chloroform as an alternative to tracheotomy.
In contrast, Industrial Revolution, in the nineteenth century, resulted in urbanization. This led to several social changes that affected hospitals. Industrialization led to the expansion of small towns due to increase in population. These towns became breeding grounds of diseases (Wilde, 2018) . Towns that emerged were separated in terms of class. The working class towns, which accommodated daily laborers, had poor conditions compared to the governing class who lived in areas that had better living conditions. The housing structure in the upcoming towns consisted of substandard back-to-back structures that were damp and poorly ventilated. They shared a single tap amongst many households. The industries and slaughterhouses always polluted the water that they consumed. Drainage and sewage systems were inadequate, which explains the dampness of the towns. There were poor waste deposition methods where waste would be disposed in any open space. In addition, these towns were so overcrowded.
The poor living standards and the low-level standards of hygiene led to rise of many illnesses. The working environments were also terrible creating hazards such as lung diseases and bone distortions. The workers, who led the low-class lives led to an increase in infant mortality rate and death rates. Therefore, urbanization affected the development of hospitals. There was slow development of hospitals, particularly due to the weak town administration. This led to a rise movements to help in sanitary reforms. In 1838, a group of doctors wrote two reports about the poor living conditions of Britain. The Bishop of London asked for a national survey. Chadwick, a force in public service, mobilized medical officers who came up with a report in 1842 (Wilde, 2018) . This brought to attention the problems related to class and accommodation. The report led the government to introduce public health reforms and municipal government passed private acts of parliament to coerce changes in health.
References
Dote, K., Konisi, A., Ikumene, K., Hideaka, Nandate, H. (2018). Invention of Anesthesia: Why Was It Developed in the mid-19th Century? Journal of Anesthesia History .
Kumar, P. (2017, October 20). History & Evolution of Anesthesia: 18th and 19th century advancement in science of anesthesia. Evolution of Medical profession-Extinction of good doctors .
Wilde, R. (2018). Public Health During the Industrial Revolution. History & Culture .
