2"j2 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 



the contrary, administer the carbon, as the oxide of carbon or an}* of the 

 hydro-carbons, alcohol, the ethers, etc.; in this case the blood again fur- 

 nishes the other constituent of carbonic acid, oxygen, and anesthesia is again 

 the result. 



The stage of excitement corresponds to the period of combination of the-.- 

 elements and the formation of carbonic acid gas. If the gas is administere 1 

 as such, there will be no stage of excitement; but if the constituents com- 

 bine slowly, and the gas is generated in limited quantities, there will In- a 

 corresponding state of excitement. Thus, in the stupor of drunkenne- , 

 carbonic acid is exhaled in normal quantities; but as the stupor passes off, 

 large quantities of that gas are exhaled. The venous state of the arterial 

 blood, during amesthesia, is another proof that carbonic acid is being gene- 

 rated in large quantities. If it is true that in /;>.</-//>?<;/* examinations of 

 those dying while under the influence of chloroform, bubbles of air are found 

 in the heart and bluod-ves-els. it is highly probable that this air is carbonic 

 acid gas, unless, perchance, it has entered the circulation by some mechanical 

 lesion. 



The only means, in his opinion, of any avail in restoring a patient from 

 profound Or fatal amesthe-ia.is artificial respiration, or Midi other mean- 

 by exciting reflex action, will restore respiration, and thus ha-tcn the elimi- 

 nation of the carbonic acid ga>. It has been recommended in threatened 

 and apparent death from aiuc>tlie.-ia, to resort to the inhalation of oxygen or 

 nitrous oxide. Reasoning from the premises which he had given, such 

 remedies would be in the highest degree dangerous. To satisfy him>clf in 

 regard to this fact, lie had made numerou- experiment- upon animals, and 

 invariably found a fatal issue hastened by administering ox\ gen. New York 

 JiinriKil i if J}f, tlfriit, . 



At a Mibsequcnt meeting, l>r. 1 >etmold favored the academy with u -writ- 

 ten exposition of his vie\vs of the rationale of the action of chloroform, sulpli. 

 ether, and nitrous oxide, the three agents employed for the purpose of pro- 

 ducing ana'sthe-i;,. He attributes the action of all of them to the production 

 of carbonic acid gas in the system. The Iir-t two -upply the carbon, which, 

 absorbing o\\gen from the blood, and the la-t Mipplying oxygen, -which, 

 absorbing carbon, in either ca-e carbonic add is the result ; which, by its 



action on the living organism, produces aiuc-the-ia. This theory, tl nh 



not absolutely su.-ceptible of demonstration, is yet, apparently, based on a 

 logical foundation, and liudd a seeming confirmation in a number of well- 

 known facts. 



ANESTHESIS BY CARBONIC ACID. 



In the Annual of Scientific Discovery for 15.">S, page 320, some account of 

 experiments instituted by Drs. Follin and Simpson, on the use of carbonic 

 acid for local anesthesis, was given. We have now to report on the cfFe. :- 

 of its inhalation when mixed Avith a certain quantity of air, a< observed by 

 M. O/.anam, who proposes its use for man. He state-, that the effects of 

 carbonic acid are similar to those of ether, but more fugitive; and while, 

 with the latter, the inhalation should be interrupted at intervals, with car- 

 bonic acid, the reverse is true. He affirms, that as long as it is wished to 

 prolong the sleep, the inhalations should be continued; that they may In; 

 continued ten, twenty, thirty minutes or more, without danger to life. On 

 ceasing the 'inhalation, waking is almost immediate. In these experiments 



