Lijec̆nic̆ki vjesnik
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Lijec̆nic̆ki vjesnik · Jan 2000
Historical Article[Ether and chloroform narcosis in the pages of Zagreb newspapers from 1847 to 1849].
Overviews of the development of anesthesiology in Croatia always emphasize that the first report on the employment of ether anesthesia was published on March 13, 1847, in the Zadar newspaper Gazzeta di Zara. In the world as well, daily newspapers played an important part in spreading the news about the discovery and first use of ether anesthesia. This fact stimulated us to do a systematic search through Zagreb press of that time. ⋯ Regarding total number of texts dedicated to the topic of painless surgery, culmination was reached in 1847, and afterwards the interest of press in this field decreased. In the period from 1847 to the beginning of 1849, not one article was followed by subsequent comments of Croatian readers, either lay people or medical practitioners. Texts were not written sensationally, but with the aim to objectively inform the public by communicating experience and attitudes of contemporary reputable surgeons, including all professional details which might be useful for potential users--patients, as well as for Croatian physicians, surgeons, obstetricians, dentists and veterinarians.