The use of inhaled anesthetics can be traced back as far as the medieval Moors, who used narcotic-soaked sponges placed over the nostrils of patients. Some 300 years later, in 1275, Majorcan alchemist Raymundus Lullus is supposed to have discovered the chemical compound later called ether. The compound, which would have a brief but important run as the anesthetic of choice in Western medicine, was synthesized by German physician Valerius Cordus in 1540. Adding sulfuric acid, known at the time as “oil of vitriol,” to ethyl alcohol resulted in the compound Cordus called “sweet vitriol.”
During the next few centuries, ether was used by physicians for a variety of purposes. Its effectiveness as a hypnotic agent was well-known, and a favorite pastime of medical students in the early 19th century was the “ether frolic,” an early version of the drunken frat party. Nevertheless, no record of ether’s being used as an anesthetic in surgery appears until the 1840s.
Dr. Crawford Williamson Long of Jefferson, Georgia, removed neck tumors from a patient under ether anesthesia on March 30, 1842. However, he failed to publish the record of his experiment until 1848, by which time Dr. William T. G. Morton, a dentist in Hartford, Connecticut, had conducted a variety of experiments with ether on animals and himself, culminating in the painless extraction of a tooth from a patient under ether on September 30, 1846.
After reading about Morton’s successful use of ether, doctors at Harvard invited him to demonstrate his technique. At Massachusetts General Hospital on October 16, 1846, Morton administered ether to a patient, and senior surgeon John Collins Warren removed a growth from the patient’s neck as a crowd of doctors and dignitaries looked on. The operation is recorded in several paintings of the era, indicating its critical importance. Despite its volatility and side effects, ether continued to be used as an anesthetic until it was overtaken by less harmful potions. Morton, meanwhile, struggled unsuccessfully to be granted a patent for his “discovery” and then, when that failed, for his “technique.” After years of litigation, he died penniless at age 49.
1. The statement in the first paragraph that ether would “have a brief but important run as the anesthetic of choice in Western medicine” implies that the author believes which of the following?(A) Ether was not a particularly good anesthetic.
(B) Ether was not used long enough to judge its effectiveness.
(C) Ether was effective during the period when it was used.
(D) Ether was a noteworthy import from the East to the West.
(E) Ether had other, more critical uses during that time.
2. Which of these would be the best title for the passage?(A) “Inhaled Anesthetics”
(B) “An Important Anesthetic”
(C) “How Anesthetics Have Changed”
(D) “Our Debt to Ancient Physicians”
(E) “The Dangers of Anesthesia”
3. Which of the following statements from the passage provides the least support for the author’s claim that ether was an important discovery for physicians at the time?(A) “Dr. Crawford Williamson Long of Jefferson, Georgia, removed neck tumors from a patient under ether anesthesia on March 30, 1842.”
(B) “After reading about Morton’s successful use of ether, doctors at Harvard invited him to demonstrate his technique.”
(C) “The operation is recorded in several paintings of the era, indicating its critical importance.”
(D) “Senior surgeon John Collins Warren removed a growth from the patient’s neck as a crowd of doctors and dignitaries looked on.”
(E) “Nevertheless, no record of ether’s being used as an anesthetic in surgery appears until the 1840s.”
4. In the first paragraph, the author probably writes that Lullus “is supposed to have discovered” ether because(A) there is conflicting evidence about his discovery
(B) Lullus did not really discover ether at all
(C) although Lullus was meant to discover it, someone else did
(D) no one can really “discover” a chemical compound
(E) Lullus’s training made him likely to make the discovery
5. How is the information in the fourth paragraph organized?(A) By reasons and examples
(B) Using comparisons and contrasts
(C) In time order
(D) Using cause-and-effect relationships
(E) In order of importance
6. The author probably includes information about Dr. Long in the third paragraph to show that(A) Morton was not the first to use ether in a surgical procedure
(B) publishing results can mean the difference between fortune and penury
(C) both dentists and doctors used ether to good effect
(D) doctors in the Northeast often received more attention than doctors from the South
(E) in contrast to earlier alchemists, doctors understood ether’s dangers