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Major Anesthetic Themes in the 1960s

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The Wondrous Story of Anesthesia

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Abstract

The decade of the 1960s might be described as the “Golden Age of Anesthesia” because of the changes throughout the world profoundly influencing all aspects of the specialty and some that reached beyond the specialty. Research into the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of anesthesia grew to maturity in this and the next decade. In a search for “why and what”, phenomenological research increasingly turned into basic “how and where” research. New drugs appeared (bupivacaine, enflurane, fentanyl, ketamine, etomidate, pancuronium) or disappeared (Innovar, methoxyflurane), and their effects were investigated. Sub-specialization was soon accompanied by worldwide specialty societies, and specialty oriented journals facilitated training of experts and spurred targeted research contributing to improved anesthetic care. In the US, recruitment into the specialty grew out of an ASA initiative aimed at exposing medical students to the specialty while still early in their careers. Also in the US, passage of the Medicare Act in 1965 included anesthesiologists in Part B, stipulating reimbursement on a fee for service basis (similar to that for most physicians), improving salaries for anesthesiologists, and coinciding with a nearly exponential growth in anesthesiologist numbers in every subsequent decade.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

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

    Lawrence J. Saidman MD

  2. Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Rod N. Westhorpe OAM MB BS FRCA FANZCA

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

    Edmond I Eger II MD

Authors
  1. Lawrence J. Saidman MD
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  2. Rod N. Westhorpe OAM MB BS FRCA FANZCA
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  3. Edmond I Eger II MD
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Lawrence J. Saidman MD .

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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Saidman, L., Westhorpe, R., Eger II, E. (2014). Major Anesthetic Themes in the 1960s. 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_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-8441-7_9

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-8440-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-8441-7

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