W \m^ JL Ct XN \«/ .Cl 



■ Friday, Mat 21, 1920 



CONTENTS 

 Local AruBsthetics : Dr. Henkt G. Baebour. . 497 



The American Association for the Advance- 

 ment of Science: — 



Fhenomena in the Ultra-violet Spectrum, in- 

 cluding X-rays: Professor David L. Web- 

 ster, Professor R. A. Millikan, Pro- 

 fessor William Duane and Dr. A. W. 

 Hull 504 



Scientific Events : — 

 Publications and Membership of the Na- 

 tional Academy of Sciences; Mathematical 

 Meetings at the University of Chicago; The 

 Southwestern Division of the American 

 Association for the Advancement of Sci- 

 ence; The Besignation of President Drinker 

 of Lehigh University 508 



Scientijie Notes and News 513 



University and Educational News ul2 



Discussion and Correspondence: — 

 FormulcB giving the Day of the WeeTc of Any 

 Date: Dr. W. J. Spillman. Origin of the 

 Supposed Human Foot-prints of Carson 

 City, Nevada: Dr. Chestkr Stock. Scien- 

 tific Photography : A. J. Newton 513 



Quotations : — 

 Competition in Sesearch 515 



A New Statistical Joxirnal: Professor Ray- 

 mond Pearl 515 



Special Articles: — 



Foot-rot of Wlieat: Professor F. L. 

 Stevens 517 



Tlie American Association for the Advance- 

 ment of Science: — 



Section E — Geology and Geography: Pro- 

 cessor RoLLiN T. Chamberlin 518 



The American Mathematical Society: Pro- 

 fessor F. N. Cole 523 



MSS. intended for publication and booka, etc., intended for 

 review should be sent to The Editor of Science, Garrison-on- 

 Hudson, N. Y. 



LOCAL ANESTHETICS! 



Since earliest times, those who have re- 

 sorted to surgery for the relief of their fellow 

 creatures, have desired to mitigate their pro- 

 cedures by the exclusion of pain. Generally 

 speaking, this has been brought about by a 

 complete abolition of consciousness, whence 

 the term, anesthesia ("without sensation"). 



To those cases in which sensation is re- 

 moved by the application of a drug only at 

 the point of operation is applied the term local 

 anesthesia; substances used for this purpose 

 are termed local anesthetics. Some authori- 

 ties consider this designation inaccurate be- 

 cause during the emplojinent of these sub- 

 stances consciousness is fully retained. They 

 might therefore be described as local analgesics 

 ("without pain") but the other term has the 

 sanction of usage. 



Historians cite abundant instances of the 

 employment in ancient times of genepal 

 anesthesia, the oldest being a case of removal 

 of a rib. For this purpose we are told that 

 " the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall 

 upon Adam," the patient. The commonest of 

 the age-old general anesthetics are alcohol 

 opiates and mandragora, all of which were 

 given separately or mingled with other in- 

 gredients. 



Local anesthesia, on the other hand, was 

 attempted with comparative infrequency be- 

 fore the last century. Perhaps the earliest 

 authentic description of an approach to this 

 method is that which emanates from the 

 school of Salerno,^ in the tweKth century. 

 In those days was practised a form of general 

 anesthesia by causing the patient to inhale 

 the vapors of so-called "soporific sponges," the 

 chief ingTedients of these being poppy, hen- 



1 Lecture given before the Brooklyn Institute of 

 Arts and Sciences, February 7, 1920. 



2 Cited by Husemanu, Deutsch. Zeitschr. f. 

 Chirurgie, 1896, 42, 585. 



