Re-enactment of the first public demonstration of<unk><unk>  by William T. G. Morton on October 16, 1846 in the Ether Dome at Massachusetts<unk>  Hospital, Boston. Surgeons John Collins Warren and Henry Jacob Bigelow are included in this daguerrotype by Southworth & Hawes. Bulfinch Building, home of the Ether Dome Attempts at producing a state of<unk><unk>  can be traced throughout recorded history in the writings of the ancient Sumerians, Babylonians, Assyrians, Egyptians, Indians, and Chinese. The Renaissance saw significant advances in anatomy and surgical technique. However, despite all this progress, surgery remained a treatment of last resort. Largely because of the associated pain, many patients with surgical disorders chose certain death rather than undergo surgery. Although there has been a great deal of debate as to who deserves the most credit for the discovery of<unk><unk> , it is<unk> ly agreed that certain scientific discoveries in the late 18th and early 19th centuries were critical to the eventual introduction and development of modern anesthetic techniques. Two major advances occurred in the late 19th century, which together allowed the transition to modern surgery. An appreciation of the germ theory of disease led rapidly to the development and application of antiseptic techniques in surgery. Antisepsis, which soon gave way to asepsis, reduced the overall morbidity and mortality of surgery to a far more acceptable rate than in previous eras. Concurrent with these developments were the significant advances in pharmacology and physiology which led to the development of<unk><unk>  and the control of pain. In the 20th century, the safety and efficacy of<unk><unk>  was improved by the routine use of tracheal intubation and other advanced airway management techniques. Significant advances in monitoring and new anesthetic agents with improved pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic characteristics also contributed to this trend. Standardized training programs for<unk> logists and nurse anesthetists emerged during this period. The increased application of economic and business administration principles to health care in the late 20th and early 21st centuries led to the introduction of management practices such as transfer pricing to improve the efficiency of anesthetists.
History of general anesthesia
History of neuraxial anesthesia
History of cardiopulmonary resuscitation
History of tracheal intubation
History of chemical warfare
History of herbalism
History of chronic fatigue syndrome
History of invasive and interventional cardiology