Which anaesthetics were tried before chloroform, and what was wrong with them?

Nitrous oxide, suggested by Humphry Davy in 1799, was not taken seriously, and ether, used for an amputation in 1846, irritated the lungs, made patients vomit and caught fire easily.

How did Simpson find a better anaesthetic?

He and his colleagues in Edinburgh tried out chemicals on themselves after dinner in 1847 and woke on the floor after inhaling chloroform.

What made chloroform respectable?

Queen Victoria accepted it for the birth of her son in 1853, after which few people were willing to argue against it.

Why are the years after 1846 called the black period of surgery?

Because painless operations let surgeons cut deeper and take longer, and with no control of infection the proportion of patients who died actually rose.

AQA GCSE History 8145

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Topic overview The geography of North America Why the early settlers went west and the challenges they faced Dealing with a different culture Increasing conflict on the Plains The background to the American Civil War Coming to terms with the Mormons The aftermath of the American Civil War The continued settlement of the west The resolution of ‘the Indian problem’ after 1865

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Topic overview The Alliance System Anglo-German rivalry Outbreak of war The Schlieffen Plan The Western Front The wider war: other fronts, Gallipoli and the war at sea Changes in the Allied Forces Military developments in 1918 and their contribution to Germany’s defeat Germany surrenders

Conflict and Tension: The Inter-War Years, 1918–1939Wider world depth

Topic overview The armistice The Versailles Settlement Impact of the treaty and wider settlement The League of Nations Diplomacy outside the League The collapse of the League The development of tension Escalation of tension The outbreak of war

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Medieval England: The Reign of Edward I, 1272–1307British depth

Topic overview Henry III’s legacy Development of government, rights and justice Trade, towns and villages Education and learning The development of the legal system Medieval warfare, tactics and technology The invasion and colonisation of Wales Relations with Scotland The historic environment of Medieval England Historic site: the Battle of Stirling Bridge (2027)Historic site: Acton Burnell Castle (2028)

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Health and the People in Britain, c1000 to the Present Day

A revolution in surgery

3 things to know
Paper 2 section A

Overview

Pain, infection and bleeding, nitrous oxide and ether, Simpson's chloroform and the objections to it, Queen Victoria's approval, the black period of surgery, Lister's carbolic acid and its results, resistance to it, and aseptic surgery.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started

Numbers

Why did some people object to chloroform?

Key term

Why did many surgeons resist Lister's antiseptic methods?

Key term

What were the three great problems facing surgeons before 1850?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1
What were the three great problems facing surgeons before 1850?
Model answer
Pain, infection and bleeding, and until all three were solved an operation had to be shallow and desperately fast.
2
Which anaesthetics were tried before chloroform, and what was wrong with them?
Model answer
Nitrous oxide, suggested by Humphry Davy in 1799, was not taken seriously, and ether, used for an amputation in 1846, irritated the lungs, made patients vomit and caught fire easily.
3
How did Simpson find a better anaesthetic?
Model answer
He and his colleagues in Edinburgh tried out chemicals on themselves after dinner in 1847 and woke on the floor after inhaling chloroform.
4
Why did some people object to chloroform?
Model answer
Some clergy held that the pain of childbirth was intended by God, the safe dose was hard to judge and Hannah Greener died under it in 1848, and deeper operations at first killed more patients.
5
What made chloroform respectable?
Model answer
Queen Victoria accepted it for the birth of her son in 1853, after which few people were willing to argue against it.
6
Why are the years after 1846 called the black period of surgery?
Model answer
Because painless operations let surgeons cut deeper and take longer, and with no control of infection the proportion of patients who died actually rose.

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America, 1840–1895: Expansion and Consolidation

America, 1920–1973: Opportunity and Inequality

Conflict and Tension Between East and West, 1945–1972

Conflict and Tension in Asia, 1950–1975

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