Anaesthesia Essays on Its History

thesiologist, were not included. Perhaps the next symposium will have a paper on his many contributions. Even though his dates are not quite modem (1813-1858), his accomplishments were, especially his book On Chloroform and Other Anaesthetics (1858), the first comprehensive textbook on anaesthesia [2]. There has been a real renaissance of interest in the history of anaesthesia. Among those responsible for this rebirth, besides Dr. Rupreht and Dr. Erdmann, are Dr. Selma Calmes and Dr. Rod Calverley, now on the Board of the new American society, the Anesthesia History Association. It held its inaugural meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, during the annual meeting of the American Society of Anesthesiologists, on 9 October 1983. The meeting was well attended, and the evening was profitable and delightful. Mention should also be made of the accomplishments of the nurse anaesthetists [3]. They are many in number, and generally they work under the direction of a physician­ anaesthesiologist. Although modem anaesthesia was Ameriea's first great medieal diseovery, it soon traversed the globe and found worldwide acceptance. The British, for example, have made many coeval and historie contributions. Besides Dr. Duncum one thinks of Prof. T. Cecil Gray, who pioneered the British use ofeurare [4], andDr. J. Alfred Lee, whowas a pioneerin the use ofspin~l anaesthesia and is currently working on the fifth edition of a textbook on spinal analgesia [7]. Dr.