Two published versions of a letter in which Oliver Wendell Holmes, MD, recommended the name anaesthesia were identified from publications supportive of the claims of W. T. G. Morton. The earliest known publication of Holmes' letter is in a pamphlet published by Edward Warren in May-June 1847. Another version of the letter was published 12 years later in Nathan P. Rice's biography of Morton. Holmes' letter to Morton was probably lost when a substantial part of a collection of Morton's papers was damaged during storage. There are no reported copies of Holmes' letter. The currently available Information does not provide any assistance in determining the correct form of Holmes' letter.
HolmesO.W.Homoeopathy, and its Kindred Delusions; Two Lectures Delivered Before the Boston Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge.William D. Ticknor, Boston1842.
7.
HolmesO.W.The contagiousness of puerperal fever. New England Quarterly Journal of Medicine and Surgery1843; 1: 502–530.
8.
HolmesO.W.Puerperal Fever as a Private Pestilence.Ticknor and Fields, Boston1855.
9.
HolmesO.W.The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table.Phillips: Sampson and Company Boston1858.
10.
HolmesO.W.The Professor at the Breakfast-Table; with the Story of Iris.Ticknor and Fields, Boston1860.
11.
HolmesO.W.The Poet at the Breakfast-Table. His Talks with his Fellow-Boarders and the Reader. James R. Osgood and Company, Boston1872.
12.
HolmesO.W.The Stereoscope and the Stereograph. The Atlantic Monthly1859; 3: 738–748.
13.
WarrenE.Some Account of the Letheon; Or, Who was the Discoverer? First edition.Dutton and Wentworth, Printers, Boston1847.
14.
WarrenE.Some Account of the Letheon; Or, Who was the Discoverer? Second Edition, First Issue.Dutton and Wentworth, Printers, Boston1847.
15.
FultonJ.F., StantonM.E.The Centennial of Surgical Anesthesia; An Annotated Catalogue of Books and Pamphlets Bearing on the Early History of Surgical Anesthesia, Exhibited at the Yale Medical Library, October 1946. H. Schuman, New York 1946; p. 47–53.
16.
SimP. Edited by CatonD., McGoldrickK.E., SniderP., ReillyF.A.The Heritage of Anesthesia. Patrick Sim's Annotated Bibliography of the Rare Book Collection of the Wood Library-Museum of Anesthesiology.Wood Library-Museum of Anesthesiology, Park Ridge, Illinois2012; p. 34–35.
17.
Sauvages de Lacroix. Nouvelles Classes de Maladies. d'Avanville, Avignon1731; p. 206–207.
18.
Linné, Carl von. Genera Morborum. Upsaliae 1759; p. 16.
CullenW.Translated by Henry Wilkins. A Synopsis of Methodical Nosology. Printed by Parry Hall, Philadelphia1793; p. 150.
21.
GoodJ.M.A Physiological System of Nosology; with a Corrected and Simplified Nomenclature.Wells and Lilly, Boston1823; p. 259.
22.
Gregory. Case of anaesthesia of the left, and of paralysis of the right side of the body. Philadelphia Medical Museum1808; 5: 121–130.
23.
YellolyJ.History of a case of anaesthesia. Med Chir Trans1812; 3: 90–101.
24.
YellolyJ.History of a case of anaesthesia. Journal of Foreign Medical Science and Literature1815; 5: 349–357.
25.
ReidA.Case of anaesthesia, or loss of sensation, unattended with corresponding loss of motion. Edinburgh Medical and Surgical Journal1829; 31: 292–296.
26.
Watson[T], On facial palsy and anaesthesia. London Medical Gazette1832–3; 12: 558–565.
27.
McPheetersW.M.Case of partial anaesthesia with remarks. St Louis Medical and Surgical Journal1845–6; 3: 157–158.
28.
McPheetersW.M.Case of partial anaesthesia, with remarks. Boston Medical and Surgical Journal1845; 33: 153–154.
29.
ElliotsonJ.Numerous Cases of Surgical Operations Without Pain in the Mesmeric State; With Remarks Upon the Opposition of Many Members of the Royal Medical and Chirurgical Society and Others to the Reception of the Inestimable Blessings of Mesmerism. H. Baillière, London 1843; p. 65.
30.
ElliotsonJ.The Harveian Oration, Delivered Before the Royal College of Physicians, London, June 27th, 1846, …With an English Version and Notes. H. Baillière, London 1846; p. 68.
31.
MorchE.T., MajorR.H.Anaesthesia. Early use of the word. Anesth Analg Cur Res1954; 33: 64–68.
32.
SanchezG.C.Lexicographic history of “anesthesia”. J Clin Anesth1996; 8: 435–438.
33.
AskitopoulouH., RamoutsakiI.A., KonsolakiE.Analgesia and anesthesia: etymology and literary history of related Greek words. Anesth Analg2000; 91: 486–491.
34.
AstyrakakiE., PapaioannouA., AskitopoulouH.References to anesthesia, pain, and analgesia in the Hippocratic collection. Anesth Analg2010; 110: 188–194.
35.
SykesW.S.Essays on the First Hundred Years of Anaesthesia, Volume 1. Wood Library-Museum of Anesthesiology, Park Ridge, Illinois1982; p. 75–76.
36.
Statements, Supported by Evidence, of Wm. T. G. Morton, M.D. on his Claim to the Discovery of the Anaesthetic Properties of Ether, Submitted to the Honorable the Select Committee Appointed by Senate of the United States. Presented at: 32nd Congress, 2nd Session, Washington, D.C., January 21, 1853. p. 560.
37.
MortonW.T.G.Circular. Morton's Lethēon, 5th edition. L. H. Bridgman, Boston1847.
38.
RobinsonJ.A Treatise on the Inhalation of the Vapour of Ether, for the Prevention of Pain in Surgical Operations.Webster and Co., London1847.
39.
SnowJ.On the Inhalation of the Vapour of Ether in Surgical Operations.John Churchill, London1847.
40.
WarrenJ.C.Etherization; with Surgical Remarks.William D. Ticknor & Company, Boston1848.
41.
PriestleyW.O., StorerH.R. (Editors). The Obstetric Memoirs and Contributions of James Y. Simpson, M.D., F.R.S.E., Professor of Midwifery in the University of Edinburgh, Etc., Etc. Volume 2. J. B. Lippincott & Co., Philadelphia1856; p. 521–530.
42.
SimpsonJ.Y.Notes on the employment of the inhalation of sulphuric ether in the practice of midwifery. Monthly Journal of Medical Science (Edinburgh)1847; 7: 721–728.
43.
RaeS.M., WildsmithJ.A.So just who was James ‘Young’ Simpson?Br J Anaesth1997; 79: 271–273.
44.
MorseJ.T.Jr.. Life and Letters of Oliver Wendell Holmes. Volume I and II. Houghton, Mifflin and Company, Boston and New York1896.
