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The Wondrous Story of Anesthesia pp 417–428Cite as

A History of Nordic Anesthesia

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Abstract

News of anesthesia’s discovery came via Great Britain and France, and ether was given by February 1847. Chloroform quickly followed, but its lethality caused a reversion to ether by 1900. During the last half of the nineteenth Century, surgeons directed delivery of anesthesia by nurses and non-medical persons. Operations were few in number, and infections remained the dominant surgical risk. Surgeons introduced local and regional anesthesia after Koller’s 1884 demonstration of the anesthetic effects of cocaine. Until the 1930s, nurse anesthetists, directed by surgeons, continued to provide most anesthesia. Surgeons persuaded a few colleagues like Gordh (Sweden) to pursue a career in anesthesia. Gordh returned home in 1940 after 2 years training in the US. World War II delayed the training of other Nordic pioneers. Swedish scientists synthesized lidocaine, and Gordh clinically tested it in 1943. In 1950, Thesleff, and von Dardel in Sweden studied succinylcholine in patients.

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Acknowledgments

Substantial parts of this text originate from the book: 150 År med Nordisk Anestesiologi (Scandinavian Anesthesia during 150 years, SA 150 yrs) which was published by the Nordic Society of Anesthesiologists, (Stockholm 1999). The contributing authors who are frequently cited in this text were: Preben G. Berthelsen, Denmark, Lena Janhunen, Finland, Jon Sigurdson, Iceland, and Per H. Rosenberg, Finland for the Society. We thank them all for valuable insights.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care, Molde Hospital, Molde, Norway

    Kjell Erik Stromskag MD, PhD

  2. Departments of Anesthesia, Stanford University Medical Center, 300 Pasteur Drive, 94305-5640, Stanford, CA, USA

    John G Brock-Utne MA, MD, PhD, FFA (SA)

  3. Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care, Karolinska Institute and Hospital, Karolinska vägen, 171 76, Solna, Sweden

    Jan Eklund MD, PhD

  4. Uppsala University, S:t Olofsgatan 10B, 753 12, Uppsala, Sweden

    Martin H:son Holmdahl MD, PhD

Authors
  1. Kjell Erik Stromskag MD, PhD
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  2. John G Brock-Utne MA, MD, PhD, FFA (SA)
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  3. Jan Eklund MD, PhD
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  4. Martin H:son Holmdahl MD, PhD
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to John G Brock-Utne MA, MD, PhD, FFA (SA) .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anesthesia and Perioperative Care, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Edmond I Eger II MD Emeritus Professor

  2. Departments of Anesthesia, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA

    Lawrence J. Saidman MD Emeritus Professor

  3. Geoffrey Kaye Museum of Anaesthetic History, Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Rod N. Westhorpe OAM, MB, BS FRCA, FANZCA Former Honorary Curator

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© 2014 Edmond I Eger, MD

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Stromskag, K., G Brock-Utne, J., Eklund, J., H:son Holmdahl, M. (2014). A History of Nordic Anesthesia. In: Eger II, E., Saidman, L., Westhorpe, R. (eds) The Wondrous Story of Anesthesia. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-8441-7_32

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-8441-7_32

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

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  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-8441-7

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