Crawford Long Essay

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Crawford Long In the 18th century countless lives were lost every year by conditions unknown to physicians of the time (“History of Anesthesia” 2010). Surgery was often hindered by the excruciating pain it brought to patients (“History of Anesthesia” 2010). In an effort to relieve pain during surgery, surgeons employed all kinds of means they could (“History of Anesthesia” 2010). Such processes were arbitrary and often rendered detrimental consequences emphasizing the need of an effective anesthetic agent (“History of Anesthesia” 2010). Not many medical revelations could be termed as significant and elementary as the discovery and development of Anesthesia (“History of Anesthesia” 2010). Some even went as far as to physically place a blow on the head to render the patient unconscious (“History of Anesthesia” 2010). Some used derivatives of herbs and plant extracts like opium and marijuana and others preferred alcohol concoctions to knock out a patient (“History of Anesthesia” 2010). Cocaine injections in the eye mouth and other areas of the body were also found useful in blocking nerve impulses (“History of Anesthesia” 2010). Some even went as far as physically placing a blow on the head to render unconsciousness (“History of Anesthesia” 2010). Different anesthetic practices were in use in his time when Crawford Long revived the field of surgical anesthesia by using diethyl ether as an anesthetic (“History of Anesthesia” 2010). Crawford William Long was an American surgeon and pharmacist best known for his first use of inhaled diethyl ether as an anesthetic (en.wikiprdia.org). Crawford Long was born in Danielsville, GA, on March 1, 1815 (“BookRags Biography of Crawford Williamson Long”). At the age of fourteen he attended Franklin College in Athens graduating in 1835 with his Masters of Arts degree (“BookRags Biography of Crawford Williamson Long”, Hani
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