Chloroform by Linda Stratmann

Chloroform by Linda Stratmann

Right up until the 19th century, physicians and philosophers regarded sleep as a state of near-oblivion in which there was no mental activity, a kind of halfway stage between wakefulness and death. For the Victorians, therefore, when anaesthesia was first practised, it was commonly seen as traumatic - for doctors were being asked to induce a condition looked upon as partial death. Viewed with suspicion, many feared that they would never wake again, or that they would lose their faculties on a permanent basis, even become insane. Yet, especially after Queen Victoria allowed its administration to her during childbirth, its use to block out pain became widespread. Tracing the social, medical and criminal history of chloroform, this book looks at early medical practices to create oblivion through the discovery of chloroform and its use and misuse in the 19th century, to the present. Today chloroform is no longer used as an anaesthetic, but has a multitude of uses in industry and medical research, including a role in DNA profiling. A by-product of the chlorination of water, we inhale infinitesimal amounts of chloroform every time we have a shower.

Linda Stratmann was born in 1948. When she was 16 she took a part-time job in Boots the Chemist and well remembers selling and dispensing Collis Browne's Chlorodyne. She currently works as a tax inspector. She also edits on a freelance basis. She has had a long-term interest in true crime and has done extensive research in this field. This is her first book.

SKU	Non disponible
ISBN 13	9780750930987
ISBN 10	0750930985
Titre	Chloroform
Auteur	Linda Stratmann
État	Non disponible
Type de reliure	Hardback
Éditeur	The History Press Ltd
Année de publication	2003-08-31
Nombre de pages	256
Note de couverture	La photo du livre est présentée à titre d'illustration uniquement. La reliure, la couverture ou l'édition réelle peuvent varier.
Note	Non disponible