[Questions on the first operation with ethyl ether as anaesthetic by Dr. Peter Parker].
Ethyl ether was the first accepted effective general anaesthetic. It was introduced into China by an America missionary, Dr. Peter Parker. This was one of the historical events of medical communication between China and the West. In the records of the first operation with ether, however, Dr. Parker unusually omitted the patient's medical record number and the date of the operation, while those of other operations with ether anesthetics were all available. This was very unusual for a doctor like Peter Parker who always recorded every important case in detail in the hospital reports. It seems that he deliberately rather than carelessly omitted the information for some reasons. Based on the analysis of Parker's reports, a conclusion is made that the anesthetic effect of the case was actually ineffective. Furthermore, possible answers to this are outlined and question by discussion based on the situation that Parker faced in the late Qing era.
Center for History of Medicine, Peking University, Beijing, 100191, China.
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D000777:Anesthetics / Q000266:history*; D002681:China; D004986:Ether / Q000266:history*; D049672:History, 19th Century; D006801:Humans; D010820:Physicians
D000777:Anesthetics; D004986:Ether
Anesthesia; Ethyl ether; Peter Parker