Civil War Era Anesthesia Inhaler

This is a Civil War era copper Anesthesia Inhaler with the attached hand-spun mesh cover. There would be a disposable gauze insert on the large end of the cone which would cover the patient’s mouth and nose. It measures approximately 6 ½” long with the diameter at the larger end 4”, and 2” at the smaller end. It is made of heavy sheet copper with rolled lips and soldered seams all around. The ether or chloroform would be slowly dripped into the mesh until it reached the gauze insert until the patient went under.

The advent of general inhalation ether anesthesia began in 1846, and chloroform the following year. This transformed military as well as civilian surgery. Its introduction in civilian life coincided with the Mexican-American war (1846-48), which saw ether used for the first time by American military surgeons under combat conditions. Initially, its employment by army doctors remained extremely limited, but by 1849 ether was officially issued by the U.S. Army.

It was during the Civil War, however, that painless surgery on the battlefield became fully established. Interestingly, despite American doctors' extensive experience with ether by then, chloroform became the anesthetic agent of choice by both Union and Confederate army surgeons for the duration of the hostilities. This decision was grounded in the faster action of chloroform and the good record it had earned on the battlefields of the Crimean War.

Occasionally things turned out badly, however, when patients died in the first few minutes of having chloroform administered; these events were usually well-publicized in contemporary newspapers, coroners' inquests, and medical journals. As a result, even well into the Civil War era, some patients declined the use of anesthesia, choosing instead to endure surgery while awake. However, only 37 deaths (5.4 deaths for every thousand cases) were attributed to chloroform, of the just under 7,000 instances in which it was the anesthetic used. This unique example is in very nice condition with no damage and having a beautiful aged patina to the copper. A rare piece which would be a nice addition to a Civil War or Medical collection. (SOLD)