Why is ether used as anaesthesia?

“Ether” (shorthand for di-ethyl ether) is a terrible anesthetic. Vivian Marcus’ analogy with the Model “T” is a good one. At its time, it was revolutionary. read more

Diethyl ether was the first truly successful general anaesthetic agent for several reasons. It's easy and cheap to make from ordinary alcohol. Any high-street chemist in the 19th century could do it. And you could make it today in a school science lab. It's a liquid which evaporates into a vapour which you can easily breathe. read more

Ether is no longer used as an anesthetic. The long induction time and the side effects make it a poor Choice for anesthesia. The more modern anesthetics have fewer side effects. I had my tonsils removed under ether anesthesia. I still remember that event. It was not pleasant. read more

Though both anesthetic agents were developed around the same time (the 1840s), chloroform soon emerged as the more widely used, as it took action faster and was non-flammable. During the Civil War, ether and particularly chloroform became indispensable tools for military doctors, who performed tens of thousands of amputations and other types of procedures for wounded Union and Confederate soldiers. read more