The milk of amnesia: A brief history of anaesthesia

McDreamy and McSteamy in Grey’s Anatomy; difficult but brilliant Hugh Laurie in House; dashing George Clooney in ER. TV audiences love a rock star surgeon.

But not so long ago, surgeons were called ‘sawbones’ and patients were told to literally bite on a bullet to silence their screaming. Many chose to die prematurely rather than undergo surgery. It was only the advent of anaesthesia in the mid-19th Century that made surgeons less knife-wielding Dr Moreau and more civilised Dr Watson.

Today anaesthesia is one of the safest routine medical procedures, but challenges remain and the science continues to evolve.