Editor's Note: Shauna Devine, Ph.D., is a historian of Civil War and American medicine. She has a Ph.D. in medical history and currently holds a joint appointment as a research fellow at the Schulich ...

The man accused of killing 3-year-old Mariah Woods is alleged to have used chloroform. Chloroform was invented in the 1830s and among its original uses was in surgery as an anesthetic. The anesthetic ...

Over 130 years ago, a significant scientific event was recorded in the medical history of Hyderabad, and indeed the world. It would have an enduring effect on the science of anesthesiology and its ...

If you enjoyed this article, I’d like to ask for your support. Scientific American has served as an advocate for science and industry for 180 years, and right now may be the most critical moment in ...