November 23, 2021

Ep 4: The Next Chapter of Anesthesiology (The Etherist, Season 3)

31 minutes

In this episode, we turn our focus to the present to see how recent research could be used to shape the future of anesthesiology.

In previous episodes, we reviewed how the pioneers of anesthesia were able to successfully use ether and chloroform without the full knowledge of those drugs that we have today. In that spirit, we explore whether there is untapped potential in our current scientific expertise that could help improve the delivery of modern-day anesthesia.

This season of the podcast began with the retelling of the origin story of anesthesia use. We revisited the classic tale of Ether Day with the benefit of hindsight and almost two centuries of clinical advances. But the stories about William T.G. Morton, Simpson Young and John Snow are also just chapters in a much larger story of medical progress. It is our story, too. While this season of The Etherist is ending, the story of anesthesia continues, as does the push for clinical progress. In this episode, we try to answer the question: What will be the next chapter in the story of anesthesiology?

This is the fourth and final episode of season 3 of “Anesthesiology News presents The Etherist.”

Sponsored by Masimo and Medtronic.

Suggested Reading

Brown EN, Lydic R, Schiff ND. General anesthesia, sleep, and coma. _N Engl J Med_. 2010;363:2638-2650.
İnce R, Adanir SS, Sevmez F. The inventor of electroencephalography (EEG): Hans Berger (1873–1941). Childs Nerv Syst. 2021;37:2723–2724. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00381-020-04564-z
Gibbs FA, Gibbs LE, Lennox WG. Effects on the electroencephalogram of certain drugs which influence nervous activity. Arch Intern Med. 1937;60:154-166.
Glorfeld J. Hans Berger has a real brainstorm: accident inspires a career and the invention of EEG. Cosmos. November 20, 2020. Accessed November 16, 2021. https://cosmosmagazine.com/health/hans-berger-has-a-real-brainstorm/
Mets B. Waking Up Safer? An Anesthesiologist’s Record. SilverWood Books; 2018.
Purdon PL, Sampson A, Pavone KJ. Clinical electroencephalography for anesthesiologists part I: background and basic signatures. Anesthesiology. 2015;123(4):937-960. doi:10.1097/ALN.0000000000000841
Science News. Electric currents picked up from head show brain action. Science News Letter. 1935;719(27):35. Accessed November 16. https://www.sciencenews.org/archive/electric-currents-picked-head-show-brain-action
Sanders L. How Hans Berger’s quest for telepathy spurred modern brain science: instead of finding long-range signals, he invented EEG. Science News. July 6, 2021. Accessed November 16, 2021. https://www.sciencenews.org/article/hans-berger-telepathy-neuroscience-brain-eeg