The Origin of Anesthesia Machine
On a cold winter day in the mid-19th century, a rhino at the London Zoo was “anesthetized” in public – workers tied it up with ropes and knocked it unconscious with sticks so that it could perform the most basic hoof care. This cruel farce reflects the barbaric state of animal medicine in the pre-anesthesia era. It was not until the advent of the animal anesthesia machine that this violence was replaced by a more civilized way of interaction. The animal anesthesia machine is a great technological invention that frees animals from pain during medical treatment and lays the foundation for the development of animal medicine.
The Technology of Animal Anesthesia Machines Can be Traced Back to the Development of Human Anesthesia
In 1846, only one year after William Morton successfully demonstrated ether anesthesia at Massachusetts General Hospital, the veterinary community began to try to apply this technology to animals. Early animal anesthesia used a simple mask and ether drip device.
In 1852, French veterinarian Eugene Landois invented the first anesthesia device designed specifically for animals. In the following decades, with the discovery of new anesthetics such as chloroform and nitrous oxide, animal anesthesia technology continued to evolve.
In 1894, German engineer Heinrich Dehlin invented the “Dehlin animal anesthesia machine”, which first achieved precise gas mixing and delivery and was hailed as the prototype of modern animal anesthesia machines.
In the mid-twentieth century, the emergence of safer inhalation anesthesia machines such as halothane, combined with the integration of technologies such as oxygen monitoring and respiratory assistance, eventually formed today’s highly specialized animal anesthesia system.
The advent of the animal anesthesia machine has completely reshaped veterinary medicine. This invention has fundamentally changed the way humans treat animal pain through the implementation of technology. The clinical application of anesthesia machines for large and small animals shows how technology can improve the quality of medical care across species.
Looking back at the London rhino that was knocked unconscious with a stick, and looking at the animals being treated today under the monitoring of precision anesthesia machines, what we see is not only the advancement of technology, but also the profound change in human attitude towards life.
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