chloroform

chloroform
—chloroformic, adj.
/klawr"euh fawrm', klohr"-/, n.
1. Also called trichloromethane. Chem., Pharm. a colorless, volatile, nonflammable, slightly water-soluble, pungent, sweet-tasting liquid, CHCl3, usually derived from acetone, acetaldehyde, or ethyl alcohol by the reaction of chloride of lime: used chiefly in medicine as a solvent and formerly as an anesthetic.
v.t.
2. to administer chloroform to, esp. in order to anesthetize, make unconscious, or kill.
3. to put chloroform on (a cloth, object, etc.).
[1830-40; CHLORO-2 + FORM(YL)]

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Clear, colourless, heavy, nonflammable liquid organic compound with a pleasant etherlike odour, chemical formula CHCl3.

It was the first substance successfully used as a surgical anesthetic (1847); being somewhat toxic, it has been increasingly displaced by other substances for this purpose. It has some industrial uses, primarily as a solvent.

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also called  trichloromethane 

      nonflammable, clear, colourless liquid that is denser than water and has a pleasant etherlike odour. It was first prepared in 1831. The Scottish physician Sir James Simpson (Simpson, Sir James Young, 1st Baronet) of the University of Edinburgh was the first to use it as an anesthetic in 1847. It later captured public notice in 1853 when English physician John Snow administered it to Queen Victoria (Victoria) during the birth of Prince Leopold, her eighth child.

      Chloroform has a relatively narrow margin of safety and has been replaced by better inhalation anesthetics. In addition, it is believed to be toxic to the liver and kidneys (kidney) and may cause liver cancer. Chloroform was once widely used as a solvent, but safety and environmental concerns have reduced this use as well. Nevertheless, chloroform has remained an important industrial chemical.

      Chloroform is prepared by the chlorination of methane. The major use of chloroform is in the preparation of chlorodifluoromethane (HCFC-22). HCFC-22 contributes to depletion of the ozone layer, and its production is scheduled to halt by 2020 in the United States. As HCFC-22 production is phased out, chloroform production is expected to decrease significantly.

      Chloroform is formed by the reaction of chlorine with organic substances present in water and thus can occur in drinking water that has been chlorinated. The limit set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for chloroform contamination is 80 parts per billion (ppb); a typical municipal water supply contains roughly 50 ppb.

Francis A. Carey
 

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Chloroform — IUPAC name …   Wikipedia

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  • chloroform — [klôr′ə fôrm΄] n. [Fr chloroforme: see CHLORO & FORMYL] a toxic, carcinogenic, colorless, volatile liquid, CHCl3, with a sweet taste, used as a solvent, fumigant, etc. and, formerly, as a general anesthetic vt. 1. to anesthetize with chloroform 2 …   English World dictionary

  • Chloroform — Chlo ro*form, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Chloroformed}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Chloroforming}.] To treat with chloroform, or to place under its influence. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Chloroform — Chlo ro*form, n. [Chlorine + formyl, it having been regarded as a trichloride of this radical: cf. F. chloroforme, G. chloroform.] (Chem.) A colorless volatile liquid, {CHCl3}, having an ethereal odor and a sweetish taste, formed by treating… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Chloroform — (Betäubungsmittel): Die im 19. Jh. in Frankreich entwickelte chemische Verbindung ist nach den Stoffen benannt, die bei der Erstherstellung eine entscheidende Rolle gespielt haben, nämlich Chlorkalk und Ameisensäure, deren wissenschaftlicher Name …   Das Herkunftswörterbuch

  • chloroform — chloroform. См. хлороформ. (Источник: «Англо русский толковый словарь генетических терминов». Арефьев В.А., Лисовенко Л.А., Москва: Изд во ВНИРО, 1995 г.) …   Молекулярная биология и генетика. Толковый словарь.

  • Chlorŏform — (Chlorformyl, Formylsuperchlorid, Chem.), C2HCl3, ist eine durchsichtige, farblose Flüssigkeit von 1,480 spec. Gewicht, angenehmätherischem Geruch, die sich in Alkohol u. Äther in allen Verhältnissen, nur wenig aber in Wasser löst; es läßt sich… …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

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  • chloroform — (n.) trichloromethane, 1835, from Fr. chloroforme, coined 1834 by French chemist Jean Baptiste Dumas (1800 1884) from chlor , comb. form meaning chlorine + formique formic (acid). As a verb, from 1848, the year its anaesthetic properties were… …   Etymology dictionary

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