Anesthesia on the Battlefields with the Esmarch Set

Abstract

The Esmarch set was created by the German surgeon Johannes F. A. von Esmarch in 1877 for use on the battlefield. It included a transportable leather case that contained a metal mask, a dropper bottle where the chloroform was placed and a tongue forceps to be used when the patient’s tongue obstructed the pharynx. It was used successfully for decades until World War II