The Wood Library-Museum of Anesthesiology is a museum and reference collection in Schaumburg, Illinois dedicated to the history of anesthesiology. It was founded in 1933 by Dr Paul Meyer Wood, who was then Secretary-Treasurer of the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA). Initially based at a series of temporary locations, it moved to its permanent home in Schaumburg in 2014. Since 1971 it has been a nonprofit educational organization operating as part of the ASA.
Paul M. Wood M.D. joined the American Society of Anesthesiologists in 1925 and was made its Secretary-Treasurer in 1929. However, in 1932 he became seriously ill and was unable to work, either as a practicing doctor or for the ASA. While convalescing Wood began to catalogue his personal library, which he had been building since he was a medical student, and told ASA founder Dr. Adolph Frederick Erdmann [1] that he wanted to create a museum dedicated to the history of anesthesiology. Erdmann gave him a collection of books and anesthesiology apparatus to add to his own library as the nucleus of the project. In 1933 Wood donated the entire collection to the ASA. The Society asked him to keep it at his home and appointed him librarian and curator for life. [2] They also named the new collection the Wood Library-Museum of Anesthesiology. [3] By 1934 Wood was well enough to return to work. One of the first things he did was to approach Robert H. Ferguson, a retired anesthesiologist whom Erdmann had told him owned the largest collection of specialist books and apparatus in the USA. Ferguson was sympathetic but, still being in good health, preferred to keep his collection at home. Wood turned his attention to the minutes of the Society's meetings, which were now being recorded by a stenographer. As well as discussing ASA business these also contained much information about advances in anesthesiology, and Wood thought they would be a useful resource. He began to make copies and distribute them to the members, and began archiving them in the Library-Museum. In 1938 this system was developed into the ASA's official newsletter. [2]
In 1936 the ASA was approached by the organizers of the 1939 New York World's Fair and asked if they could present an exhibit on anesthesiology. The ASA agreed. The next year they received another invitation, this time to create an exhibit for the American Medical Association's annual meeting in San Francisco in June 1938. Again the invitation was accepted. The Library-Museum, which by now had expanded from its original 70 books to over 160 thanks to donations from ASA members (and had also greatly enlarged its collection of apparatus) provided the core of both exhibits.
By 1937 the collection was growing too large for Wood to keep at home and he began looking for a permanent location for it. Still trying to obtain Ferguson's collection he approached a New York City company Ferguson had been associated with, E.R. Squibb and Sons, and suggested that the museum could be located in vacant space in their office building. As bait he proposed that it be called the Robert H. Ferguson Memorial Library. Ferguson didn't take the bait but Squibb did, and the Wood Library-Museum was moved to their building. More books were donated, including 30 from Ferguson, and the collection continued to grow. The larger location had space for more apparatus and members soon started making gifts of their old equipment, including some very early anesthetic delivery systems. The ASA was also now funding the collection through voluntary donations from members. [2]
In 1950 the Wood Library-Museum of Anesthesiology was officially incorporated in New York as a nonprofit educational institution. It moved to Park Ridge, Illinois in 1963, and again to its permanent home at 1061 American Lane, Schaumburg, IL 60173–4973 in 2014. In 1971 the New York incorporation was dissolved, making the Library-Museum officially part of the ASA, and in 1987 it was incorporated in Illinois as a nonprofit under ASA auspices.
The main library is both a historical record and an active specialist medical library. The collection has now expanded to around 13,000 books, and the library also contains both US and international medical journals (over 50,) newsletters, biographical material and archives of photos and digital images. A rare book room preserves older titles as well as letters and other material. Many of these are being digitized to allow them to be read without risking the original copies. [4]
The John W. Pender Living History of Archaeology is a multimedia collection containing audio recordings of prominent anesthesiologists.
The museum houses a large collection of anesthesiology apparatus ranging from 19th century masks and inhalers [5] for administering ether and chloroform to anesthetic machines. [6] and modern electronic monitoring equipment. [7]
The Wood Library-Museum of Anesthesiology provides a number of online resources for anyone interested in the history of anesthesiology. Out of copyright books are being digitized and made available as free E-books. [8] and the museum also has a YouTube channel with a large collection of anesthesiology-related videos, [9] mostly produced by the museum itself, including demonstrations of apparatus from the collection.
Anesthesia or anaesthesia is a state of controlled, temporary loss of sensation or awareness that is induced for medical or veterinary purposes. It may include some or all of analgesia, paralysis, amnesia, and unconsciousness. An individual under the effects of anesthetic drugs is referred to as being anesthetized.
Crawford Williamson Long was an American surgeon and pharmacist best known for his first use of inhaled sulfuric ether as an anesthetic.
The Ether Dome is a surgical operating amphitheater in the Bulfinch Building at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. It served as the hospital's operating room from its opening in 1821 until 1867. It was the site of the first public demonstration of the use of inhaled ether as a surgical anesthetic on October 16, 1846, otherwise known as Ether Day. Crawford Long, a surgeon in Georgia, had previously administered sulfuric ether in 1842, but this went unpublished until 1849. The Ether Dome event occurred when William Thomas Green Morton, a local dentist, used ether to anesthetize Edward Gilbert Abbott. John Collins Warren, the first dean of Harvard Medical School, then painlessly removed part of a tumor from Abbott's neck. After Warren had finished, and Abbott regained consciousness, Warren asked the patient how he felt. Reportedly, Abbott said, "Feels as if my neck's been scratched". Warren then turned to his medical audience and uttered "Gentlemen, this is no Humbug". This was presumably a reference to the unsuccessful demonstration of nitrous oxide anesthesia by Horace Wells in the same theater the previous year, which was ended by cries of "Humbug!" after the patient groaned with pain.
Anesthesiology, anaesthesiology, or anaesthesia is the medical specialty concerned with the total perioperative care of patients before, during and after surgery. It encompasses anesthesia, intensive care medicine, critical emergency medicine, and pain medicine. A physician specialized in anesthesiology is called an anesthesiologist, anaesthesiologist, or anaesthetist, depending on the country. In some countries, the terms are synonymous, while in other countries they refer to different positions, and anesthetist is only used for non-physicians, such as nurse anesthetists.
The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) is an educational, research and scientific association of physicians organized to raise the standards of the medical practice of anesthesiology and to improve patient care.
Methoxyflurane, sold under the brand name Penthrox among others, is an inhaled medication primarily used to reduce pain following trauma. It may also be used for short episodes of pain as a result of medical procedures. Onset of pain relief is rapid and of a short duration. Use is only recommended with direct medical supervision.
The ASA physical status classification system is a system for assessing the fitness of patients before surgery. In 1963 the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) adopted the five-category physical status classification system; a sixth category was later added. These are:
In the United States, anesthesia can be administered by physician anesthesiologists, an anesthesiologist assistant, or nurse anesthetist.
Emery Neal Brown is an American statistician, neuroscientist, and anesthesiologist. He is the Warren M. Zapol Professor of Anesthesia at Harvard Medical School and at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), and a practicing anesthesiologist at MGH. At MIT he is the Edward Hood Taplin Professor of Medical Engineering and professor of computational neuroscience, the associate director of the Institute for Medical Engineering and Science, and the Director of the Harvard–MIT Program in Health Sciences and Technology.
Emery Andrew Rovenstine was an American anesthesiologist best known for organizing the first academic Department of Anesthesiology at New York's Bellevue Hospital. He also helped develop the anesthetic use for the gas cyclopropane, and he was a pioneer in therapeutic nerve blocking. Upon his death in 1960, the New York Times proclaimed him "one of the world's foremost anesthesiologists."
Harold Randall Griffith was a Canadian anesthesiologist and a leader in the fields of anesthesiology.
Jesse Menachem Ehrenfeld is an American physician. Ehrenfeld is President of the American Medical Association and Professor of Anesthesiology at the Medical College of Wisconsin. He is also a former Speaker of the Massachusetts Medical Society, where he was the youngest officer in the 228-year history of the organization. He is also a former Vice-President of the Massachusetts Society of Anesthesiologists. The inaugural recipient on the NIH Sexual and Gender Minority Research Award from the NIH Director, Ehrenfeld has been recognized for his contributions to advancing health equity. A 2008 recipient of the AMA Foundation Leadership Award, Ehrenfeld is a researcher in the field of biomedical informatics. Ehrenfeld's research interests include bioinformatics and the application of information technology to increase quality, reliability and patient safety. Ehrenfeld's work has led to the presentation of over 200 abstracts at national/international meetings and the publication of over 175 manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals. He serves as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Medical Systems, and is a fellow of the American Medical Informatics Association and the American Society of Anesthesiologists.
Certified anesthesiologist assistants (CAAs) are highly trained master’s degree level non-physician anesthesia care providers. CAAs are integral members of the anesthesia care team as described by the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA). This designation must be disambiguated from the Certified Clinical Anesthesia Assistant (CCAA) designation conferred by the Canadian Society of Respiratory Therapists. All CAAs possess a baccalaureate degree, and complete an intensive didactic and clinical program at a postgraduate level. CAAs are trained in the delivery and maintenance of all types of anesthesia care as well as advanced patient monitoring techniques. The goal of CAA education is to guide the transformation of student applicants into competent clinicians.
John Adriani was an American anesthesiologist and director of anesthesiology at Charity Hospital in New Orleans. He was president of the American Board of Anesthesiology (ABA) and he received a Distinguished Service Award from the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA). He was an early supporter of physician involvement in nurse anesthetist training.
Obstetric anesthesia or obstetric anesthesiology, also known as ob-gyn anesthesia or ob-gyn anesthesiology, is a sub-specialty of anesthesiology that provides peripartum pain relief (analgesia) for labor and anesthesia for cesarean deliveries ('C-sections').
Frank Moya was an anesthesiologist, businessman, and educator. He was widely recognized for his research in obstetric anesthesia and newborn physiology, and joined the University of Miami School of Medicine's Department of Anesthesiology as the youngest department chairman in the country, at the age of 33. Moya also held several prestigious national and state Anesthesiology positions and founded the Frank Moya Continuing Education Programs.
James Tayloe Gwathmey, M.D. was an American physician and the first president of the American Association of Anesthetics. A pioneer of early anesthetic devices for medical use, he co-authored the first comprehensive textbook on the subject of medical anesthetics, titled Anesthesia, which was published in 1914. For this and other contributions to anesthesiology, which included innovations in administering anesthetics to war wounded and in obstetrics, Gwathmey was hailed at the time of his death as the "Father of Modern Anesthesia."
Robert Marvin Epstein is an American anesthesiologist, a member of the National Academy of Medicine, and the Harold Carron Professor of Anesthesiology (emeritus) at the University of Virginia.
Andranik "Andy" Ovassapian was an Iranian-Armenian and American anesthesiologist known for the development and teaching of airway management and tracheal intubation using an optical fiber endoscope. He founded the Society for Airway Management. Throughout his career, Ovassapian was a professor at Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Northwestern University, and the University of Chicago.
George Alexander Mashour is an American anesthesiologist.
