Morton, William Thomas Green

Morton, William Thomas Green

▪ American surgeon
born Aug. 9, 1819, Charlton, Mass., U.S.
died July 15, 1868, New York City

      American dental surgeon who in 1846 gave the first successful public demonstration of ether anesthesia (anesthetic) during surgery. He is credited with gaining the medical world's acceptance of surgical anesthesia.

      Morton began dental practice in Boston in 1844. In January 1845 he was present at Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, when Horace Wells, his former dental partner, attempted unsuccessfully to demonstrate the anodyne properties of nitrous oxide gas. Determined to find a more reliable pain-killing chemical, Morton consulted his former teacher, Boston chemist Charles Jackson (Jackson, Charles Thomas), with whom he had previously done work on pain relief. The two discussed the use of ether, and Morton first used it in extraction of a tooth on Sept. 30, 1846. On October 16 he successfully demonstrated its use, administering ether to a patient undergoing a tumour operation in the same theatre where Wells had failed nearly two years earlier.

      Unfortunately, Morton attempted to obtain exclusive rights to the use of ether anesthesia. He spent the remainder of his life engaged in a costly contention with Jackson, who claimed priority in the discovery, despite official recognition accorded to Wells and the rural Georgia physician Crawford Long.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Morton,William Thomas Green — Morton, William Thomas Green. 1819 1868. American dentist who demonstrated the use of ether as an anesthetic (1846). * * * …   Universalium

  • Morton , William Thomas Green — (1819–1868) American dentist Morton, who was born the son of a small farmer and village shopkeeper in Charlton City, Massachusetts, is believed to have trained as a dentist at the Baltimore College of Dentistry. After a brief partnership with… …   Scientists

  • William Thomas Green Morton — (* 9. August 1819 in Charlton, Massachusetts; † 15. Juli 1868 in New York) war ein US amerikanischer Zahnarzt und Wegbereiter des Einsatzes der Narkose in Chirurgie und Zahnheilkunde. Er war verantwortlich für …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • William Thomas Green Morton — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Morton. William Thomas Green Morton utilisant l éther comme anesthésique en 1846. William Thomas Green Morton (né le 9 août 1819 et d …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Morton — William Thomas Green …   Scientists

  • William T.G. Morton — William Thomas Green Morton William Thomas Green Morton (* 9. August 1819 in Charlton, Massachusetts; † 15. Juli 1868 in New York) war ein US amerikanischer Zahnarzt und Wegbereiter des Einsatzes der Narkose in Chirurgie und Zahnheilkunde. Er war …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Morton — ist der Name folgender Orte: im Vereinigten Königreich: Morton (Derbyshire) Morton (Gloucestershire) Morton (Isle of Wight) Morton (Norfolk) Morton (Nottinghamshire) Morton and Hanthorpe in Lincolnshire Morton on Swale in North Yorkshire in den… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Morton —   [ mɔːtn],    1) Jelly Roll, eigentlich Ferdinand Joseph La Menthe [la mãt], amerikanischer Jazzmusiker (Klavier, Komposition), * Gulfport (La.) 20. 10. 1885, ✝ Los Angeles (Calif.) 10. 7. 1941; begann seine Laufbahn um 1900 als Pianist in New… …   Universal-Lexikon

  • Morton — Morton1 [môrt′ n] n. [orig. surname & place name < OE Mor tun < mor, a swamp, MOOR1 + tun,TOWN] a masculine name: dim. Mort, Morty Morton2 [môrt′ n] 1. Ferdinand Joseph (born Ferdinand Joseph Lamothe) 1890 1941; U.S. jazz pianist & composer …   English World dictionary

  • William T. G. Morton — Infobox Scientist name = William Thomas Green Morton box width = image width =150px caption = birth date = August 9, 1819 birth place = Charlton, Massachusetts death date = July 15, 1868 death place = New York City spouse = Elizabeth Whitman… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”