The use of chloroform by British Army Surgeons during the Crimean War

Abstract

Allied armies land in the Crimea Battle of the River Alma Hall's caution on the use of chloroform published in the Illustrated London News British Army reaches Balaklava Syme's response to Hall published in The Times Siege of Sebastopol begins; first bombardment Battle of Balaklava Battle of the Inkerman Great storm at Balaklava 2nd bombardment of Sebastopol 3rd 4th ,. .. 5th ,. .. Malakoff and Redan redoubts stormed Minor "cleaning-up" actions and expeditionsAllied armies evacuated from the Crimea afterwards in the hospital, he is rendered more nervous and susceptible of pain by his illness and suffering....I believe that ether will give the surgeon a greater choice in selecting between cases for immediate and subsequent operation, for dread of the knife helps to cause and keep up the faintness and collapse, which often prevent the surgeon from operating at once.The ether and apparatus will not add anything to the necessary baggage, for it will stand in the stead of a much greater weight of brandy....During the operation it will prevent faintness, which arises more from pain than loss of blood, which is seldom great.It usually acts, also, as a stimulate in itself, and I do not remember to have seen wine or brandy given in the operating theatre of St George's Hospital more than once since January.Snow went on to describe some of the operations, for which he had anaesthetized, which were of particular relevance to military surgeons.There were twelve amputations (thigh 8; leg 2; forearm 2), with two deaths, both after thigh amputations in weak and emaciated patients, "and I may observe, that two out of eight is below the usual number of deaths after this operation.Operations for necrosis somewhat resemble several undertaken for the removal of bullets and other extraneous bodies.Of these there have been four in the hospital, and the patients did extremely well".Despite the potential benefits of anaesthesia, as described to military surgeons by Snow, there is little evidence of its use by British army surgeons in war injuries before 1854.John Shepherd, who noted that military surgeons were frequent contributors to the medical journals of the time, could find only one definite report, prior to 1854, of anaesthesia being used for wounds received on the battlefield.2This was a letter from an assistant-surgeon https://

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