Ether Day Address

A fascinating and entertaining look at the men behind the first surgical use of anesthesia—and the price they paid for their breakthrough. On Friday, October 16, 1846, only one operation was scheduled at Massachusetts General Hospital.... That day in Boston, the operation was the routine removal of a growth from a man's neck. But one thing would not be routine: instead of using pulleys, hooks, and belts to subdue a patient writhing in pain, this crucial operation would be the first performed under a general anesthetic. No one knew whether the secret concoction would work. Some even feared it might kill the patient. This engrossing book chronicles what happened that day and during its dramatic aftermath. In a vivid history that is stranger than fiction, Ether Day tells the story of the three men who converged to invent the first anesthesia—and the war of ego and greed that soon sent all three men spiraling wildly out of control.

Poet), who became wife, companion, and partner in further adventures in travel and letters. But Barney Crile was and is much more than the prince of a famous family. He is the author of several books and 462 scientific papers, an Honorary Member of the Royal College of Surgeons, and known for his advocacy of conservative approaches to surgery, especially breast cancer. The last caused him some problems with other surgeons, but in this case, as in others, he was in.

This groundbreaking book weaves together three important themes. It describes major developments in the diagnosis and treatment of heart disease in the twentieth century, explains how the Mayo Clinic evolved from a family practice in Minnesota into one of the world's leading medical centers, and reveals how the invention of new technologies and procedures promoted specialization among physicians and surgeons. Caring for the Heart is written for general readers as well as health care professionals, historians, and policy analysts. Unlike traditional institutional or disease-focused histories, this book places individuals and events in national and international contexts that emphasize the interplay of medical, scientific, technological, social, political, and economic forces that have resulted in contemporary heart care. Patient stories and media perspectives are included throughout to help general readers understand the medical and technological developments that are described. The book is a synthetic study, but it is written so that readers may pick and choose the chapters of most interest to them. Another feature of the book is that readers may follow the stories without looking at the notes. Those who are interested in delving deeper into the main topics will find a wealth of carefully chosen references that offer greater detail and additional perspectives. The descriptions and interpretations that fill the book benefit from the fact that the author has been a practicing cardiologist and medical historian for almost four decades. This is mainly a twentieth-century story, but it begins earlier--before there were physicians who were identified as cardiologists and at a time when medical specialization was just emerging in America. The final chapter, which addresses present-day concerns about health care costs, counterbalances earlier ones that might be read as celebrations of new technologies.

Blockchain technology has certainly been hyped over the past few years, but when you strip all of that away, what can actually do with it? This book provides you with an introduction to Ethereum, an open source platform that's based based on blockchain. It enables developers to build and deploy decentralized applications that can be relied on to work without fraud, censorship or interference from third parties. Far more than just a cryptocurrency or smart contracts platform, Ethereum is becoming an entire ecosystem for building decentralized applications. This collection contains three books: A Developer's Guide to Ethereum, a collection of articles that provides an introduction to blockchain technology more broadly before focusing on the Ethereum platform specifically Ethereum: Tools & Skills, a collection of articles examining some of the most popular Ethereum tools, and walk you through how to use them when building your own Ethereum-based apps. Build Your First Ethereum DApp, a complete project tutorial that will walk you through the creation of a complete distributed application (DApp) based on the Ethereum platform. This collection is for anyone interested in using the Ethereum platform for development. No prior knowledge of blockchain is assumed.