A HISTORY OF VETERINARY ANAESTHESIA

Abstract

The History of Veterinary Anaesthesia is reviewed from the time of the discovery of the anaesthetic properties of ether in birds in the 16th century to its first recorded use in humans and then in domestic animals in 1846. This was followed by the use of chloroform in man and animals. Chloral hydrate was used some years later at about the time that epidural anaesthesia was being used for the first time. An Anaesthetic Act followed in 1919 in the U.K. The 1930´s saw the advent and development of the barbiturates. In the 1940´s regional anaesthesia of the flank of the cattle was reported. The concept of balanced anaesthesia in small animals was developed in the 1950´s. The discovery of halothane in 1956 was the real stimulus to the development of inhalational anaesthesia for large animals and it led to the development of equipment for that purpose. More recent developments have included the alpha 2-adrenoreceptor agonist and propofol. After the introduction of isoflurane there were further inhalational agents; desflurane and sevoflurane. The development of muscle relaxants from the time of Waterton´s tripto South America to the present are also discussed.