Editor's Note: Shauna Devine, Ph.D., is a historian of Civil War and American medicine. She has a Ph.D. in medical history and currently holds a joint appointment as a research fellow at the Schulich ...

Anesthesia was in its infancy when the American Civil War began in 1861. The sheer number of casualties gave surgeons on both sides the opportunity to gain experience with the first two anesthetic ...

Surgery would be inconceivable without general anesthesia, so it may come as a surprise that despite its 175-year history of medical use, doctors and scientists have been unable to explain how ...

Scientists from Scripps Research have shown how anesthetics cause clusters of lipids in the cell membrane to break apart, triggering downstream processes that lead to a loss of consciousness. Share on ...

The discovery of the use of chloroform as an anæsthetic, made by Sir James Young Simpson in Edinburgh in 1847, was marked by a graduation ceremony at the University at which the honorary degree of ...

Conscious sedation helps reduce anxiety, discomfort, and pain during certain medical procedures. Doctors use medications and sometimes local anesthesia to induce relaxation. Conscious sedation is now ...

Anesthesia is a type of medication that prevents people from feeling pain during or following surgery. There are four main categories of anesthesia: local, regional, general, and sedation. Share on ...

LA JOLLA, Calif. and JUPITER, Fla.- MAY 29, 2020 - Surgery would be inconceivable without general anesthesia, so it may come as a surprise that despite its 175-year history of medical use, doctors and ...