Wood Library-Museum Research Articles

From Piles of Fortune to Piles of Wood: Bangor's William E. Mann and "Ko-Kane".

George S. Bause, M.D., M.P.H., Honorary Curator and Laureate of the History of Anesthesia, Wood Library-Museum of Anesthesiology, Schaumburg, Illinois, and Clinical Associate Professor, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio. UJYC@aol.com.

The Providential Discharge of Civil War Dentist-Anaesthetist Moses S. Eldridge.

George S. Bause, M.D., M.P.H., Honorary Curator and Laureate of the History of Anesthesia, Wood Library-Museum of Anesthesiology, Schaumburg, Illinois, and Clinical Associate Professor, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio. UJYC@aol.com.

May Day of 1961 and Self-appendectomy with Novocaine in Antarctica: Leonid Rogozov's 0.5% Solution?

George S. Bause, M.D., M.P.H., Honorary Curator and Laureate of the History of Anesthesia, Wood Library-Museum of Anesthesiology, Schaumburg, Illinois, and Clinical Associate Professor, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio. UJYC@aol.com.

Joseph Priestley's Retorts: Spirited Dissent and Gaseous Discoveries.

George S. Bause, M.D., M.P.H., Honorary Curator and Laureate of the History of Anesthesia, Wood Library-Museum of Anesthesiology, Schaumburg, Illinois, and Clinical Associate Professor, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio. UJYC@aol.com.

How Springfield's Dr. W. F. Andrews Dispensed Ether, Gas, and Books.

George S. Bause, M.D., M.P.H., Honorary Curator and Laureate of the History of Anesthesia, Wood Library-Museum of Anesthesiology, Schaumburg, Illinois, and Clinical Associate Professor, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio. UJYC@aol.com.

Dr. G. D. Blanchard's 25 Years of "Perfect Success" with Gas and Ether.

George S. Bause, M.D., M.P.H., Honorary Curator and Laureate of the History of Anesthesia, Wood Library-Museum of Anesthesiology, Schaumburg, Illinois, and Clinical Associate Professor, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio. UJYC@aol.com.

From Baking Up Nitrous Oxide to Making Goals: Rindge Tech's L. A. Brennan.

George S. Bause, M.D., M.P.H., Honorary Curator and Laureate of the History of Anesthesia, Wood Library-Museum of Anesthesiology, Schaumburg, Illinois, and Clinical Associate Professor, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio. UJYC@aol.com.

2020 Wood Library-Museum laureate of the history of anesthesia

2020 Wood Library-Museum laureate of the history of anesthesia

Horst Otto Stoeckel: Collector and Museum Founder

As a medical student and during his preacademic time prior to 1958, Horst Stoeckel was interested in the history of medicine and especially history related to anesthesia. After his retirement from Chair of Anesthesiology at the University of Bonn in 1994, Stoeckel received a gift from Professor Richard Kitz of Harvard University (Boston, MA) that encouraged him to develop his collection of 150 artifacts and 350 books and periodicals into a scientific museum and library. The late librarian, Patrick P. Sim, MLS, of the Wood Library-Museum of Anesthesiology in the United States also encouraged and supported Stoeckel with literature concerning anesthesia history. The Horst Stoeckel Museum of Anaesthesiology (Horst-Stoeckel-Museum fur die Geschichte der Anasthesiologie) was dedicated by the University of Bonn and opened to the public on October 9, 2000, and currently has more than 1000 items displayed in 45 themed display cases. A newly themed concept of Incremental Development of Eminent Anesthesia Landmarks to Operational Routine was developed for the display and explanation of the history of anesthesia related to pioneers, equipment, books, and manuscripts. A display concept combining Person, Publication, and Apparatus is used throughout the museum. A well-stocked library currently holds more than 13,000 books and periodicals. The museum's 10-year anniversary was celebrated with a symposium entitled “German Pioneers in Anaesthesia of the first 100 years,” held at the University of Bonn on October 8, 2010. The museum's Web site in German, English, and French is www.anaesthesia-museum.uni-bonn.de.

A Chronology for the Identification and Disclosure of Adverse Effects of Succinylcholine

BackgroundNew therapies are created to address specific problems and enjoy popularity as they enter widespread clinical use. Broader use can reveal unknown adverse effects and impact the life cycle significantly. Succinylcholine, a depolarizing neuromuscular blocker, was the product of decades of research surrounding the ancient compound, curare. It was introduced into practice in the 1950s by Burroughs Wellcome and Company (BW Co) and was welcomed due to its rapidly acting muscle relaxation effects. Global clinical use revealed adverse effects, both minor and major, in particular, hyperkalemia and malignant hyperthermia. We investigated when practitioners and the manufacturer became aware of these adverse effects, how information about these side effects was disseminated, and whether the manufacturer met the regulatory requirements of the time, specifically regarding the timely reporting of adverse effects. SourcesPrimary literature search using online and archived documents was conducted at the Wood Library-Museum of Anesthesiology, Schaumburg, IL. We consulted documents submitted by BW Co to federal authorities, through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reports, promotional advertisements, package inserts, published articles, and textbooks. ResultsInitial clinical testing in humans in 1952 found no adverse effects on cardiovascular or respiratory systems. Fasciculations and myalgia were early side effects described in case reports in 1952. Large-scale clinical trials in 1953 found abnormally long recovery times among some patients; the discovery of abnormal pseudocholinesterase enzyme activity was not fully demonstrated until the early 1960s. Bradycardia was first reported in 1957 in children, and in 1959 in adults. In 1960, animal studies reported a transient increase in plasma potassium; further experiments in 1969 clearly demonstrated succinylcholine-induced hyperkalemia in burn patients. Malignant hyperthermia was first described in 1966. Similar cases of elevated temperatures and muscle rigidity were described globally but the underlying mechanism was not elucidated until the 1990s. Standard anesthesia textbooks did not report major side effects of succinylcholine until 1960 and included newly documented side effects with each edition. BW Co's packaging contained warnings as early as the 1950s but were later updated in 1962 and beyond to reflect the newly discovered hyperkalemia and malignant hyperthermia. ConclusionParticularly given the regulatory environment of the time, BW Co appropriately reported the adverse effects of succinylcholine after market entry; it updated promotional and packaging material in a timely manner to reflect newly discovered adverse effects. The toxicity, though alarming and put clinicians on alert, did not seem to heavily impact succinylcholine's use, given its various desirable properties. It is still a choice muscle relaxant used today, although there are efforts to develop superior agents to replace succinylcholine.

Correspondence Dated April 17, 1848, from Charles T. Jackson, MD, to John Snow, MD

A previously unpublished four-page letter from Charles T. Jackson, MD, to John Snow, MD, was acquired in December 2016 by the Wood Library-Museum of Anesthesiology, Schaumburg, IL. The letter may be a draft or a copy of the letter which may have been sent to Snow in 1848. Jackson's letter to Snow does not reveal any significant new insight into the controversy over the discovery of etherization. A hitherto unknown meeting of Jackson's former chemistry student, Joseph Peabody, and John Snow, MD, was revealed in the letter.

A Newly Discovered Manuscript of Charles T. Jackson, MD: “History of the Patenting of the Application of Sulphuric Ether for the Production of Insensibility”

In 2016, the Wood Library-Museum of Anesthesiology, Schaumburg, IL, acquired an unpublished 11-page manuscript written by Charles Thomas Jackson, MD, (1805-1880). The undated manuscript, now fully transcribed, provides Jackson's perspective of the first 6 weeks of the ether discovery, from early October 1846 to mid-November 1846. It chronicles Jackson's observations and discussions pertaining to United States Patent No. 4848, granted to him and William Thomas Green Morton, MD, (1819-1868). Jackson's manuscript did not yield new information on the discovery of surgical etherization or the subsequent dispute between him and Morton. The manuscript may, nevertheless, be one of the earliest documents on etherization known to have been written by Jackson.

Jetting after Dr. Douglas Sanders: From “Valley Forge” to New Haven to the Wood Library-Museum

Jetting after Dr. Douglas Sanders: From “Valley Forge” to New Haven to the Wood Library-Museum

Sarpedon Carried by Messengers Sleep and Death: from Mortality to Immortality?

a Historical Researcher, 2500 Hudson-Aurora Rd, Hudson, OH, 44236-2324, USA b Clinical Associate Professor, Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, 11100 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH, 44106, USA c Clinical Associate Professor, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine, 2124 Cornell Rd, Cleveland, OH, 44106, USA d Honorary Curator, American Society of Anesthesiologists' Wood Library-Museum of Anesthesiology, 1061 American Lane, Schaumburg, IL, 60173-4973, USA

On Fire: Advertising the Burning Success of the Colton Dental Association

a Anesthesiology & Perioperative Medicine, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, 11100 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA b Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine, 2124 Cornell Rd, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA c American Society of Anesthesiologists, Wood Library-Museum of Anesthesiology, 1061 American Lane, Schaumburg, IL 60173-4973, USA

Philadelphia Dental Rooms' “Gas” Trade Card: Dangling Racial Stereotypes

a Medical Student, The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, 301 University Blvd, Galveston, TX, 77555-0144 b Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, CaseWestern Reserve University School of Medicine, 11100 Euclid Ave, Cleveland, OH, 44106, USA c Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine, 2124 Cornell Rd, Cleveland, OH, 44106, USA d Honorary Curator, American Society of Anesthesiologists', Wood Library-Museum of Anesthesiology, 1061 American Ln, Schaumburg, IL, 60173-4973, USA

Gentle Gassing by S.S. Cox, Not S.S. White

a Medical Student, The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, 301 University Boulevard, Galveston, TX 77555-0144, USA b Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, 11100 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA c Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine, 2124 Cornell Rd, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA d Honorary Curator, Wood Library-Museum of Anesthesiology, 1061 American Lane, Schaumburg, IL 60173-4973, USA

A Journeying Journal: Pittinger's Inaugural Issue of Anesthesiology

Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, 11100 Euclid Ave, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine, 2124 Cornell Rd, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA Honorary Curator, American Society of Anesthesiologists', Wood Library-Museum of Anesthesiology, 1061 American Lane, Schaumburg, IL 60173-4973, USA

Uncovering the History of Operating Room Attire through Photographs

Although early proponents for each of the four basic articles of operating room clothing--gowns, caps, masks, and gloves--can be identified, it is unclear from historical commentaries when each article achieved general acceptance and was consistently worn by surgeons and by anesthesia providers. Historical photographs were identified from the Web sites of the National Library of Medicine, Google, and the archives of the Wood Library-Museum of Anesthesiology for the 11 decades 1860 to 1970. The presence or absence of each article of clothing was then determined for the surgical and anesthesia providers depicted. Over 1,000 photographs were identified and examined. Photographs were then eliminated for repetition, lack of available dating, questionable dating, and poor quality. In 338 remaining photographs that met inclusion criteria, 640 surgical providers and 219 anesthesia providers were depicted and used in the analysis. Statistical definitions for historical terms general acceptance and routine use were proposed. The probability that a surgeon was wearing nonstreet clothes (gown) was 0.66 (95% CI, 0.22 to 0.93) in 1863. The years (95% lower bound to 95% upper bound) associated with a 0.5 probability for wearing cap, gloves, and mask were 1900 (1896 to 1904), 1907 (1903 to 1910), and 1916 (1913 to 1919), respectively. The years associated with a 0.5 probability that an anesthesia provider would be wearing nonstreet clothes (gown), cap, and mask were 1883 (1863 to 1889), 1905 (1900 to 1911), and 1932 (1929 to 1937), respectively. Timelines for the adoption of each basic article of surgical attire by surgeons and anesthesia providers were determined by analysis of historical operating room photographs from 1863 to 1969.

Meandering Musings by Linus Pauling: “American Scientists and the Spirit of the Frontier”

Hoping to raise funds in 1975 for his namesake institute, Linus Pauling submitted to Esquire magazine a 32-page handwritten manuscript, “American Scientists and the Spirit of the Frontier.” Angered when his submission for publication was declined, Pauling eventually gifted the original manuscript in 1986 to his friend, Linus Pauling Institute fundraiser Stephen Maddox, who would sell it in 2004 to the Wood Library-Museum of Anesthesiology. Published accurately here for the first time, the manuscript captures not only Pauling's sweeping metaphor of scientists as frontiersmen but also the creative process by which Pauling formulated his hydrate microcrystal theory of general anesthesia.