title: The history of local anesthesia.
abstract: For hundreds of years, mankind has struggled with the problem of controlling pain during surgical procedures without putting the patient to sleep. In 1884, cocaine was discovered to have local anesthetic properties and soon became widely used in many types of surgery. The many undesirable properties of cocaine led scientists to find a safer alternative. Since then, more effective local anesthetics have been and continue to be developed.
authors.forename: Malvin E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Ring
mesh_terms: D000766:Anesthesia, Dental / Q000266:history* / Q000379:methods; D000772:Anesthesia, Local / Q000266:history* / Q000379:methods; D000779:Anesthetics, Local / Q000266:history; D003042:Cocaine / Q000266:history; D050785:Cryoanesthesia / Q000266:history; D049671:History, 18th Century; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049690:History, Ancient; D011312:Pressure; D013594:Syringes / Q000266:history
chemical_list: D000779:Anesthetics, Local; D003042:Cocaine