Citation

Martin RF, Desai SP. J. Anesth. Hist. 2016; 2(1): 22-27.

Affiliation

Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.janh.2015.09.005

PMID

26898142

Abstract

Horace Wells was a Hartford, Connecticut, dentist whose practice flourished because of his clinical skills. He had an imaginative mind that propelled him to the forefront in several aspects of dentistry. Unfortunately, he suffered a recurrent "illness" that began in the winter and resolved in the spring. These symptoms were compatible with both major depressive disorder and seasonal affective disorder as a qualifier. Wells' introduction of nitrous oxide as an anesthetic was also associated with self-inhalation. This led to periods of hypomania, followed by depression. With the progression to ether, then chloroform, there was an episode of mania in January 1848, followed by depression and suicide.

Language: en