Anaesthetic
The anaesthetic qualities of chloroform were first described in 1842 in a thesis by Robert Mortimer Glover, which won the Gold Medal of the Harveian Society for that year. Glover also undertook practical experiments on dogs to prove his theories. Glover further refined his theories and presented them in the thesis for his doctorate at the University of Edinburgh in the summer of 1847. The Scottish obstetrician James Young Simpson was one of the persons required to read the thesis, but later claimed to have never read the thesis and to have come to his conclusions independently.On 4 November 1847, Simpson first discovered the anesthetic qualities of chloroform on humans. He and two colleagues were entertaining themselves by trying the effects of various substances, and thus revealed the potential for chloroform in medical procedures.A few days later, during the course of a dental procedure in Edinburgh, Francis Brodie Imlach became the first person to use chloroform on a patient in a clinical context. In May 1848, Robert Halliday Gunning made a presentation to the Medico-Chirurgical Society of Edinburgh following a series of laboratory experiments on rabbits that confirmed Glovers findings and also refuted Simpsons claims of originality. A knighthood for Simpson, and massive media coverage of the wonders of chloroform, ensured that Simpsons reputation remained high. In contrast, the laboratory experiments proving the dangers of chloroform were largely ignored. Gunning, who became one of the richest persons in Britain, endowed some 13 university scholarships under the names of other scientists rather than his own name.
Bruns nystagmus is an unusual type of bilateral nystagmus most commonly occurring in patients with cerebellopontine angle tumours. It is caused by the combination of slow, large amplitude nystagmus (gaze paretic nystagmus) when looking towards the side of the lesion, and rapid, small amplitude nystagmus (vestibular nystagmus) when looking away from the side of the lesion. It occurs in 11% of patients with vestibular schwannoma, and occurs mainly in patients with larger tumours (67% of patients with tumours over 3.5 cm diameter). Bruns nystagmus is also associated with an increased incidence of balance disturbance in patients with vestibular schwannoma. It may be caused by the compression of both flocculi, the vestibular part of the cerebellum, and improvement in both the nystagmus and balance problems occur commonly after removal of the tumour.Bruns nystagmus is named for Ludwig Bruns (1858 – 1915). == References ==