Key result
Ether anesthesia in toxic dosages causes paralysis of the respiratory center before paralysis of the heart, although heart action is poor at the time of respiratory failure.
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Emphasizes respiratory priority in ether toxicity; leaves open relevance to modern anesthetics.
The condition of the heart during an anesthetic is of great concern both to the surgeon and to the anesthetist. As the primary function of the heart is mechanical, in that it serves as a pump to distribute blood to the entire body, the main interest should center in the ability of the heart to continue to supply a sufficiently large amount of blood to meet the body needs. One of the main advantages of ether over chloroform anesthesia is that the former in toxic dosages causes first a paralysis of the respiratory center, which is more easily combated than is paralysis of the heart. However, this does not signify necessarily that ether has a selective action on the respiratory center, as it is known that the heart action is poor at the time of the respiratory failure. It is possible that severe injury to the circulatory system may precede
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Alfred Blalock (1927) studied Ether anesthesia. Ether anesthesia vs. Chloroform anesthesia was evaluated. Ether anesthesia in toxic dosages causes paralysis of the respiratory center before paralysis of the heart, although heart action is poor at the time of respiratory failure.
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