Tag: surgery

A brief history of anaesthetics and how they work – in C&EN

Click to view the full graphic on the C&EN site

Surgery has become a lot more comfortable since the first demonstrations of ether anaesthesia in the 1840s. In October’s edition of Periodic Graphics in Chemical & Engineering News, we looked at the different types of anaesthesia, the compounds involved, and what we know about how they work. Click through to the C&EN site to view the full graphic.

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Brief Guide to Inhalational Anaesthetics 2016

A Brief Summary of Inhalational Anaesthetics

Brief Guide to Inhalational Anaesthetics 2016
Click to enlarge

If you’ve ever needed a tooth out, or had surgery of any kind, chances are you’ll have experienced use of an inhalational anaesthetic. All of the compounds shown above can induce general anaesthesia, and a range have been utilised since the initial discovery of nitrous oxide in the mid-1800s. Often, intravenous drugs will be used for induction of anaesthesia, but inhalational agents may then be used to maintain this – this graphic looks at how the drugs in use for this purpose have varied over the years.

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